Read today:
“He didn’t get the contract,” Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Alfonso Jackson said,. “Why should I reward someone who doesn’t like the president, so they can use funds to try to campaign against the president? Logic says they don’t get the contract"
Remember, Haliburton's no-bid contracts in Iraq.
This data has been mined by the LNSB for patterns.
21 May, 2006
Gitmo, torture and the U.N.
read today:
The Taliban fought back when we invaded their country (their leaders were harboring the al-Qaeda) as we would have if they had invaded our country. Both sides were justified at that point.
Some of them were scooped up and after 4 years are still being held captive by us without any charges, which suggests no or weak grounds for charging. About 460, some just former Taliban fighters, are incarcerated at the Cuban prison camp.
A U.N. panel said Friday the indefinite detention of suspected terrorists at Guantanamo violates the world's ban on torture. In issuing its report, the Committee Against Torture said the United States should ensure that no prisoner is tortured.
Our generals have said this is not a war that can be won militarily. Do you get it?
The Taliban fought back when we invaded their country (their leaders were harboring the al-Qaeda) as we would have if they had invaded our country. Both sides were justified at that point.
Some of them were scooped up and after 4 years are still being held captive by us without any charges, which suggests no or weak grounds for charging. About 460, some just former Taliban fighters, are incarcerated at the Cuban prison camp.
A U.N. panel said Friday the indefinite detention of suspected terrorists at Guantanamo violates the world's ban on torture. In issuing its report, the Committee Against Torture said the United States should ensure that no prisoner is tortured.
Our generals have said this is not a war that can be won militarily. Do you get it?
Republicans selective law enforcement
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales denied that authorities would randomly check journalists' records on domestic-to-domestic phone calls in an effort to find journalists' confidential sources. "We don't engage in domestic-to-domestic surveillance without a court order," Gonzales said, under a "probable cause" legal standard.
But he added that the First Amendment right of a free press should not be absolute when it comes to national security. If the government's probe into the NSA leak turns up criminal activity, prosecutors have an "obligation to enforce the law."
Why don't these Republicans enforce laws when it comes to employers??
But he added that the First Amendment right of a free press should not be absolute when it comes to national security. If the government's probe into the NSA leak turns up criminal activity, prosecutors have an "obligation to enforce the law."
Why don't these Republicans enforce laws when it comes to employers??
do they really care
Another explosion rocks a coal mine. Five more men die. And the burning question is the same as it was in the Sago Mine disaster. Some of the six workers caught in Saturday's blast in an eastern Kentucky coal mine had survived the initial blast and put on their oxygen devices, but only one made it out alive, Gov. Ernie Fletcher said. And a brother of the survivor said he passed out a couple of times as he escaped because his "self-rescuer" wasn't working properly.
The details echo those of West Virginia's Jan. 2 Sago Mine explosion, the only survivor of which said he and some of his 12 doomed co-workers had to share their breathing apparatus because at least four of the packs didn't work.
The real question is do the owners and the politicians who they finance really care???
The details echo those of West Virginia's Jan. 2 Sago Mine explosion, the only survivor of which said he and some of his 12 doomed co-workers had to share their breathing apparatus because at least four of the packs didn't work.
The real question is do the owners and the politicians who they finance really care???
19 May, 2006
the end game in Iraq
I saw a bumper sticker the other day that read--"Suport our troops, oppose the war". I guess they mean the one in Iraq.
If that country eventually survives, it will be controlled by shiites who are sixty percent of the population and will control most of the oil reserves, and they hate us and are allied with Iran.
They are already blaming us for the tens of thousand of civilian deaths while we are there, that includes women and children.
Nice isn't it.
If that country eventually survives, it will be controlled by shiites who are sixty percent of the population and will control most of the oil reserves, and they hate us and are allied with Iran.
They are already blaming us for the tens of thousand of civilian deaths while we are there, that includes women and children.
Nice isn't it.
16 May, 2006
Iraq update
"At least" 2,443 members of the U.S. military have died, not counting (1)"contractors" (2) Iraqi civilian women and children (3) the tens of thousands that have been wounded, and the one in five surviving soldiers that have lingering mental problems.
15 May, 2006
casualties in Iraq
"At least" 2,443 members of the U.S. military have died, not counting (1)"contractors" (2) Iraqi civilian women and children (3) the tens of thousands that have been wounded, and the one in five surviving soldiers that have lingering mental problems.
I say at least as this is an Associated Press count. Our "free country" Defense Department does NOT publish numbers.
I say at least as this is an Associated Press count. Our "free country" Defense Department does NOT publish numbers.
14 May, 2006
world of Republican Conservatives(neocons)
President Bush told the public Thursday in a brief appearance aimed at quelling the instant outrage provoked by the story. He assured Americans that their civil liberties were being "fiercely protected" and that the government was "not mining or trolling through the personal lives of millions of innocent Americans."
In other words, never mind appearances. Trust us.
Well, that is not all it means. Nor can the president's promise to protect privacy be reliably kept.The fact that the government is trying to track (but not wiretap) every call you make and every call you receive — at home or on your cellphone is, to say the least, disturbing.
It means that your phone company tossed your privacy to the wind and collaborated with this extraordinary intrusion, and that it did so secretly and without following any court order.That is, unless you're lucky enough to be served by Qwest, the one major phone company that had the integrity to resist government pressure.
These types of databases invariably have errors. The federal terrorist "watch list," which is used to screen airline passengers, has ensnared a number of innocent travelers, for example, a 23-month-old toddler whose names are similar to, or the same as, suspects on the list. Once you're mistakenly targeted, the error can be nearly impossible to fix and your life can be turned upside down.
It means that unless public opposition changes the government's course, this database will be compiled, updated and expanded into the indeterminate future, through countless administrations with who-knows-what interests and motives. Only the most naive and unsuspicious soul could trust that it will remain safe, secured and for the eyes only of those hunting terrorists.
Combined with a separate NSA program (revealed in December by The New York Times) to eavesdrop without warrants on international calls from the USA, it raises the question of what other secret and constitutionally suspect programs the Bush administration might still be shielding.
Air Force Gen. Michael Hayden, who headed the NSA for six years and is now Bush's nominee to be CIA director, is a master of evasion. Speaking in January about the international eavesdropping, he said the program is not a widely cast "drift net" but is narrowly "focused" and "targeted."
Over time, this vast quantity of data is a potentially irresistible tool for government officials who want to zero in on individual Americans. Welcome to the world of these Republican Conservatives.
In other words, never mind appearances. Trust us.
Well, that is not all it means. Nor can the president's promise to protect privacy be reliably kept.The fact that the government is trying to track (but not wiretap) every call you make and every call you receive — at home or on your cellphone is, to say the least, disturbing.
It means that your phone company tossed your privacy to the wind and collaborated with this extraordinary intrusion, and that it did so secretly and without following any court order.That is, unless you're lucky enough to be served by Qwest, the one major phone company that had the integrity to resist government pressure.
These types of databases invariably have errors. The federal terrorist "watch list," which is used to screen airline passengers, has ensnared a number of innocent travelers, for example, a 23-month-old toddler whose names are similar to, or the same as, suspects on the list. Once you're mistakenly targeted, the error can be nearly impossible to fix and your life can be turned upside down.
It means that unless public opposition changes the government's course, this database will be compiled, updated and expanded into the indeterminate future, through countless administrations with who-knows-what interests and motives. Only the most naive and unsuspicious soul could trust that it will remain safe, secured and for the eyes only of those hunting terrorists.
Combined with a separate NSA program (revealed in December by The New York Times) to eavesdrop without warrants on international calls from the USA, it raises the question of what other secret and constitutionally suspect programs the Bush administration might still be shielding.
Air Force Gen. Michael Hayden, who headed the NSA for six years and is now Bush's nominee to be CIA director, is a master of evasion. Speaking in January about the international eavesdropping, he said the program is not a widely cast "drift net" but is narrowly "focused" and "targeted."
Over time, this vast quantity of data is a potentially irresistible tool for government officials who want to zero in on individual Americans. Welcome to the world of these Republican Conservatives.
13 May, 2006
government excuse to spy on you
The massive government data base of telephone calls was built without court warrants or the approval of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, a panel of federal judges established to issue secret warrants, according to people with direct knowledge of the arrangement.
The administration's warrantless programs apparently violate the Constitution's Fourth Amendment, which bars "unreasonable searches and seizures" and requires warrants for searches, as well as the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) that established the secret court.
Harold Koh, dean of Yale Law School and author of The National Security Constitution, called the scope of the database "quite shocking."
"If they had gone to Congress and said, 'We want to do this without probable cause, without warrants and without judicial review,' it never would have been approved," said Koh, a former law clerk for the late Supreme Court justice Harry Blackmun, "I don't think any FISA court would have approved this kind of scale of activity."
As a general rule, telecommunications companies require law enforcement agencies to present a court order before they will turn over a customer's phone records. Under Section 222 of the Communications Act, first passed in 1934, phone companies are prohibited from giving out information about their customers' calling habits.
Senate Finance Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, questioned why the phone companies would cooperate with the NSA."Why are the telephone companies not protecting their customers?" he said. "They have a social responsibility to people who do business with them to protect our privacy as long as there isn't some suspicion that we're a terrorist or a criminal or something."
The administration's warrantless programs apparently violate the Constitution's Fourth Amendment, which bars "unreasonable searches and seizures" and requires warrants for searches, as well as the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) that established the secret court.
Harold Koh, dean of Yale Law School and author of The National Security Constitution, called the scope of the database "quite shocking."
"If they had gone to Congress and said, 'We want to do this without probable cause, without warrants and without judicial review,' it never would have been approved," said Koh, a former law clerk for the late Supreme Court justice Harry Blackmun, "I don't think any FISA court would have approved this kind of scale of activity."
As a general rule, telecommunications companies require law enforcement agencies to present a court order before they will turn over a customer's phone records. Under Section 222 of the Communications Act, first passed in 1934, phone companies are prohibited from giving out information about their customers' calling habits.
Senate Finance Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, questioned why the phone companies would cooperate with the NSA."Why are the telephone companies not protecting their customers?" he said. "They have a social responsibility to people who do business with them to protect our privacy as long as there isn't some suspicion that we're a terrorist or a criminal or something."
11 May, 2006
you and big brother
USA TODAY reported that the NSA has been collecting data from AT&T, Verizon and BellSouth since the Sept. 11 attacks to search for patterns that might help identify terrorist networks. NSA collected records from landlines and cellphones at homes, businesses and government offices across the country, including calls by individuals not suspected of wrongdoing.On Capitol Hill, Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy expressed outrage. "These are tens of millions of Americans who are not suspected of anything."
The telephone database was built without court warrants or the approval of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, a panel of federal judges established to issue secret warrants, according to people with direct knowledge of the arrangement.
One major telecommunication company, Qwest, refused to participate in the NSA program because of concerns about the expansiveness of the program and the lack of judicial oversight, USA TODAY reported.
"This is an outrageous invasion of privacy and a frightening expansion of government power," said Bob Barr, a former Georgia congressman and conservative Republican who served as one of the House managers of President Clinton's impeachment.
Ralph Neas, president of the liberal group People for the American Way, used similar language, calling the program "an unconscionable infringement on the rights and freedoms that are the birthright of every American." He added, "We can destroy the terrorists without shredding the Constitution and the Bill of Rights." Big brother is monitoring you.
The telephone database was built without court warrants or the approval of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, a panel of federal judges established to issue secret warrants, according to people with direct knowledge of the arrangement.
One major telecommunication company, Qwest, refused to participate in the NSA program because of concerns about the expansiveness of the program and the lack of judicial oversight, USA TODAY reported.
"This is an outrageous invasion of privacy and a frightening expansion of government power," said Bob Barr, a former Georgia congressman and conservative Republican who served as one of the House managers of President Clinton's impeachment.
Ralph Neas, president of the liberal group People for the American Way, used similar language, calling the program "an unconscionable infringement on the rights and freedoms that are the birthright of every American." He added, "We can destroy the terrorists without shredding the Constitution and the Bill of Rights." Big brother is monitoring you.
01 May, 2006
democratic solutions for medicare and SS
Funding shortfalls for Social Security and Medicare should be viewed in the context of Bush's drive to make the tax cuts of his first term permanent.
Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., said that if Congress approved Bush's request to make his tax cuts permanent and enacted a permanent fix for the alternative minimum tax, which was designed to tax the wealthy but is falling on more middle-class tax payers, that would represent a cumulative revenue shortfall equal to 2% of the total economy over a 75-year period.
That is three times the shortfall estimated by the trustees for Social Security over the same period, Reed said.
Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., said that if Congress approved Bush's request to make his tax cuts permanent and enacted a permanent fix for the alternative minimum tax, which was designed to tax the wealthy but is falling on more middle-class tax payers, that would represent a cumulative revenue shortfall equal to 2% of the total economy over a 75-year period.
That is three times the shortfall estimated by the trustees for Social Security over the same period, Reed said.
26 April, 2006
Bush contradicts Bush, when it suits him
During a Feb. 4 speech in Tampa, Florida, President George W. Bush pointed to a chart showing the Social Security system running out of money by 2042.
"What are you going to do about that chart?'' he urged the crowd to ask their senators and representatives.
What Bush didn't tell his audience was that if the forecast is correct, the U.S. will have its worst economic performance since the Great Depression.
He also didn't say that his own White House economists disagree with some of the basic assumptions of the chart, which was drawn up by the Social Security Administration.
"What are you going to do about that chart?'' he urged the crowd to ask their senators and representatives.
What Bush didn't tell his audience was that if the forecast is correct, the U.S. will have its worst economic performance since the Great Depression.
He also didn't say that his own White House economists disagree with some of the basic assumptions of the chart, which was drawn up by the Social Security Administration.
media control by conservatives
Conservative control of the "media"
Like every other institution, the conservative dominated Fox News Channel, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Times, New York Post, National Review, Weekly Standard, American Spectator, Policy Review, Commentary, Human Events, the entire talk radio spectrum and most major cable television talk shows operate with conservative propaganda and control.
They include, but are not limited to, a near-universal shared conservative adherence to the belief that the Family Research Council, and the Christian Coalition are mainstream positions.
They include a belief that tax cuts aimed at the top 2 percent of earners solve the nation's problems; that tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy pay for themselves and are good ways to cut the deficit and slash social spending and don't have a negative effect on economic growth; and that emotional examples of suffering (provided by the Chamber of Commerce and major polluters) are good ways to illustrate economic statistic stories.
More systematically, the conservative media structure believes that ignoring most pressing social problems, like 35 million Americans in poverty and 45 million without basic health insurance, is better than attempting to explain and address these issues; that the White House line on the economy and Iraq is more interesting than the rising mountain of contrary facts; and that the president’s use of $10 million in taxpayer money to put ads on the air promoting his Medicare plan that was written by the Drug Companyies – produced by the same media consultant who made the PhRMA ads ripping Democrats for opposing the flawed prescription drug bill – seemed fair, somehow.
It does not accept the fact that President Bush’s tax cuts for the wealthy provided almost no stimulus to the economy and are primarily responsible for massive budget deficits over the next decade.
It remains fixated on stories of economic recovery even though 2.3 million people have lost jobs since President Bush took office in 2001 and hundreds of thousands of Americans have stopped looking for work altogether.
Like every other institution, the conservative dominated Fox News Channel, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Times, New York Post, National Review, Weekly Standard, American Spectator, Policy Review, Commentary, Human Events, the entire talk radio spectrum and most major cable television talk shows operate with conservative propaganda and control.
They include, but are not limited to, a near-universal shared conservative adherence to the belief that the Family Research Council, and the Christian Coalition are mainstream positions.
They include a belief that tax cuts aimed at the top 2 percent of earners solve the nation's problems; that tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy pay for themselves and are good ways to cut the deficit and slash social spending and don't have a negative effect on economic growth; and that emotional examples of suffering (provided by the Chamber of Commerce and major polluters) are good ways to illustrate economic statistic stories.
More systematically, the conservative media structure believes that ignoring most pressing social problems, like 35 million Americans in poverty and 45 million without basic health insurance, is better than attempting to explain and address these issues; that the White House line on the economy and Iraq is more interesting than the rising mountain of contrary facts; and that the president’s use of $10 million in taxpayer money to put ads on the air promoting his Medicare plan that was written by the Drug Companyies – produced by the same media consultant who made the PhRMA ads ripping Democrats for opposing the flawed prescription drug bill – seemed fair, somehow.
It does not accept the fact that President Bush’s tax cuts for the wealthy provided almost no stimulus to the economy and are primarily responsible for massive budget deficits over the next decade.
It remains fixated on stories of economic recovery even though 2.3 million people have lost jobs since President Bush took office in 2001 and hundreds of thousands of Americans have stopped looking for work altogether.
25 April, 2006
another Bush scam
Bush said the nation's strategic petroleum reserve had enough fuel to guard against any major supply disruption over the next few months. "So, by deferring deposits until the fall, we'll leave a little more oil on the market. Every little bit helps," he said
So Bush is doing what he should have been doing anyway and to quote, "Every little bit helps' Since his family and the Cheneys (Haliburton's no-bid contract in Iraq) are heavy in oil, you can expect the snow job that will make it appear that (1) he cares and (2) he is taking action.
So Bush is doing what he should have been doing anyway and to quote, "Every little bit helps' Since his family and the Cheneys (Haliburton's no-bid contract in Iraq) are heavy in oil, you can expect the snow job that will make it appear that (1) he cares and (2) he is taking action.
the Republicans are coming
HOUSE POISED TO GRANT ARREST POWERS TO CIA, NSA The House version of the 2007 intelligence authorization bill would grant CIA and NSA security personnel the authority to make arrests for "any felony" committed in their presence, no matter how remote from the foreign intelligence mission it might be, the Baltimore Sun reported today.
Section 423 of H.R. 5020 "appears...to grant to CIA security personnel powers that have little to do with the primary mission of 'executive protection,' and potentially creates a pretext for use or abuse of these powers for the purposes of general domestic law enforcement -- something no element of the CIA has ever been empowered to perform," wrote Danielle Brian of the Project on Government Oversight in a letter to members of the House Intelligence Committee opposing the provision.
Section 432 of the bill grants similar authority to NSA security personnel.
Section 423 of H.R. 5020 "appears...to grant to CIA security personnel powers that have little to do with the primary mission of 'executive protection,' and potentially creates a pretext for use or abuse of these powers for the purposes of general domestic law enforcement -- something no element of the CIA has ever been empowered to perform," wrote Danielle Brian of the Project on Government Oversight in a letter to members of the House Intelligence Committee opposing the provision.
Section 432 of the bill grants similar authority to NSA security personnel.
23 April, 2006
bush is scary
The Bush administration has scared a lot of Americans by saying it is going to follow its plan in Iraq despite the evidence that it isn't working. I think there'd be a lot more confidence in President Bush if he seemed to have the capacity to admit mistakes and move to correct them.
And Bush's supporters aren't helping him when they rush to attack the sanity, integrity and motives of anyone who criticizes his policies.
These critics include lifelong public servants such as former White House counterterrorism czar Richard Clarke and former ambassador Joseph Wilson, longtime republican elitists such as William F. Buckley and George Will, and now even American military generals, including those who actually led ground troops in Iraq as recently as 2004.
And Bush's supporters aren't helping him when they rush to attack the sanity, integrity and motives of anyone who criticizes his policies.
These critics include lifelong public servants such as former White House counterterrorism czar Richard Clarke and former ambassador Joseph Wilson, longtime republican elitists such as William F. Buckley and George Will, and now even American military generals, including those who actually led ground troops in Iraq as recently as 2004.
22 April, 2006
conservatives vs. liberals
Conservatives often claim that liberals love to divide us by economic class.
That's not true at all. The giving of a $400 million retirement package to an executive by Exxon/Mobil which netted $36 billion last year "divides us by economic class."
And that my friends is just the "tip of the iceberg." Have a nice day!
That's not true at all. The giving of a $400 million retirement package to an executive by Exxon/Mobil which netted $36 billion last year "divides us by economic class."
And that my friends is just the "tip of the iceberg." Have a nice day!
replace Bush, Republicans, or Rumsfeld?
I read this today: "Rumsfeld should go because he invaded Iraq without a decent plan for the aftermath. ... Rumsfeld should go because ... U.S. troops brought unimaginable shame to our nation by torturing terrorist suspects in Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison and at Guantanamo Bay. ... Rumsfeld should go because he sent U.S. soldiers to war without equipping them sufficiently.
And Rumsfeld should be replaced because of the atmosphere he has created in the Pentagon, a stifling one that mirrors the worst tendencies of the Bush administration."
Replace the name Rumsfeld with these 'current republicans' and we have the real solution to the problem
And Rumsfeld should be replaced because of the atmosphere he has created in the Pentagon, a stifling one that mirrors the worst tendencies of the Bush administration."
Replace the name Rumsfeld with these 'current republicans' and we have the real solution to the problem
21 April, 2006
facts of Iraq that are not heard
The number of U.S. Army soldiers who took their own lives increased last year to the highest total since 1993, despite a growing effort by the Army to detect and prevent suicides.
"These numbers should be a wake-up call on the mental health impact of this war," said Paul Rieckhoff, executive director of the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. "One in three soldiers will come back with post traumatic stress disorder or comparable mental health issues, or depression and severe anxiety."
"You don't get much time to rest and with the increased insurgency, your chances of getting killed or wounded are growing," he said. "The Army is trying harder, but they've got an incredibly long way to go." He added that while there are more psychiatrists, the soldiers are still in a war zone, "so you're just putting your finger in the dam." ONE IN THREE, YOU DO THE MATH.
"These numbers should be a wake-up call on the mental health impact of this war," said Paul Rieckhoff, executive director of the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. "One in three soldiers will come back with post traumatic stress disorder or comparable mental health issues, or depression and severe anxiety."
"You don't get much time to rest and with the increased insurgency, your chances of getting killed or wounded are growing," he said. "The Army is trying harder, but they've got an incredibly long way to go." He added that while there are more psychiatrists, the soldiers are still in a war zone, "so you're just putting your finger in the dam." ONE IN THREE, YOU DO THE MATH.
republicans in congress
For more than three years, Congress has given President Bush a rubber stamp on his Iraq plans. Even now, as a civil war explodes, the Republican leaders in Congress won't allow a debate on whether we should change course. The idea that Congressional leaders would refuse to even discuss the most important issue in the country is amazing
18 April, 2006
current Republican Inquisition
The word, inquisition, is not exclusive to Spain in the Middle Ages. It is a useful term for historians to characterize phases of history that are distinguished by religious intolerance, by Christian holy war and Islamic jihad, by racial profiling and xenophobia, by show trials, and by snooping of secret police.
Read today:---This country is seized with collective paranoia. President Bush knows, as Ferdinand, Isabella and Torquemada knew, that constant warnings about secret terrorists are a powerful deterrent to dissent and a useful tool for consolidating political power.
Bush, like his Spanish precursors, presses for a unity of faith and a credo of purification. His faith mixes the secular and the spiritual. Its hallmarks are Jeffersonian democracy for all the world, unquestioning patriotism and revitalized Christianity. Unbelievers in this holy trinity are to be ferreted out. Not to subscribe to the methods in the war on terrorism is not so much dissent as heresy.
The American Inquisition began on Sept. 16, 2001, five days after the monstrous attack, when Bush proclaimed his "crusade." That was the defining moment for this era of U.S. history.
In the years since, Bush has demonstrated all the passion and single-mindedness of King Ferdinand. The American secret police force is not called the Holy Brotherhood as it was in 1492, for today's brotherhood is more electronic than human. On Capitol Hill, Cabinet members, past and present, call search warrants obsolete. Beware. We are all "mined" for our "data."
How different is this really from the spying that went on in the Spanish Inquisition? Suspect words or acts do not change that much with time. In Inquisitional Spain, neighbors were supposed to report a suspicious neighbor to the Holy Office. Now, symbolic words or actions are detected electronically.
In the past few months, Americans have been treated to the extraordinary spectacle of a U.S. president arguing for torture in the lofty staterooms of the U.S. government. Memos float around his Department of Defense, stressing that U.S. interrogators should cease their persecution if their victims come close to "organ failure."
The world wants to know what is going on in the star chambers of secret U.S. prisons around the world. The U.S. administration scoffs. The Geneva Conventions are called quaint, and the court in The Hague, Netherlands, cannot touch us. Standards for war crimes and crimes against humanity are for non-Americans.
For the historian, symbolic acts such as torture often define an era, and the American brand of torture has a particularly medieval quality.
"Waterboarding," as it is called (as if it were a sport like surfboarding or skateboarding), uses cellophane instead of gauze with water to subject the suspect to near drowning and suffocation. So today this is called an "enhanced" technique of interrogation. But the pitcher and gauze were just as effective in the 15th century. The intent is really no different from that of Torquemada's interrogators: to make the subject talk even though that talk might be drivel.
It is not surprising that a leader, who believes that his Christian God chose him to be president at this moment in history and that his Almighty speaks directly to him, should preside over this American Inquisition. Bush's messianic bent came to light vividly in June 2003, when he announced that his God had inspired him to go fight those terrorists and to end the tyranny in Iraq. What, one wonders, is his God telling him now about the chaos?
This supposed pipeline to heaven is, of course, not new for kings and potentates. On his deathbed in 1516, King Ferdinand told his minions that he could not die yet: God had told him that he would move on from the conquest of Granada to lead a great crusade that would recapture Jerusalem. The messianic impulse is commonplace in history.
Now, we are just a few years into the Iraq era. The situation is getting worse, and there is no end in sight. When this nightmare ends, years of self-examination are sure to follow as happened after the Vietnam disaster. The Iraq syndrome will be lengthy. In the meantime, American Inquisition takes root. It is more hard-edged and mean-spirited than the Vietnam crackdown ... for one reason.
Though Bush's explanations for his wayward adventure may constantly change, though the enterprise may show itself to be a military and moral catastrophe of historic proportions, this American leader and his circle of illuminati are utterly convinced of their righteousness.
Toward their detractors they misappropriate, like inquisitors before them, the verse of John 15:6: "If any abide not in me, he should be cast forth as a branch and shall wither, and they shall gather him up and cast him into the fire, and he shall burn."
Read today:---This country is seized with collective paranoia. President Bush knows, as Ferdinand, Isabella and Torquemada knew, that constant warnings about secret terrorists are a powerful deterrent to dissent and a useful tool for consolidating political power.
Bush, like his Spanish precursors, presses for a unity of faith and a credo of purification. His faith mixes the secular and the spiritual. Its hallmarks are Jeffersonian democracy for all the world, unquestioning patriotism and revitalized Christianity. Unbelievers in this holy trinity are to be ferreted out. Not to subscribe to the methods in the war on terrorism is not so much dissent as heresy.
The American Inquisition began on Sept. 16, 2001, five days after the monstrous attack, when Bush proclaimed his "crusade." That was the defining moment for this era of U.S. history.
In the years since, Bush has demonstrated all the passion and single-mindedness of King Ferdinand. The American secret police force is not called the Holy Brotherhood as it was in 1492, for today's brotherhood is more electronic than human. On Capitol Hill, Cabinet members, past and present, call search warrants obsolete. Beware. We are all "mined" for our "data."
How different is this really from the spying that went on in the Spanish Inquisition? Suspect words or acts do not change that much with time. In Inquisitional Spain, neighbors were supposed to report a suspicious neighbor to the Holy Office. Now, symbolic words or actions are detected electronically.
In the past few months, Americans have been treated to the extraordinary spectacle of a U.S. president arguing for torture in the lofty staterooms of the U.S. government. Memos float around his Department of Defense, stressing that U.S. interrogators should cease their persecution if their victims come close to "organ failure."
The world wants to know what is going on in the star chambers of secret U.S. prisons around the world. The U.S. administration scoffs. The Geneva Conventions are called quaint, and the court in The Hague, Netherlands, cannot touch us. Standards for war crimes and crimes against humanity are for non-Americans.
For the historian, symbolic acts such as torture often define an era, and the American brand of torture has a particularly medieval quality.
"Waterboarding," as it is called (as if it were a sport like surfboarding or skateboarding), uses cellophane instead of gauze with water to subject the suspect to near drowning and suffocation. So today this is called an "enhanced" technique of interrogation. But the pitcher and gauze were just as effective in the 15th century. The intent is really no different from that of Torquemada's interrogators: to make the subject talk even though that talk might be drivel.
It is not surprising that a leader, who believes that his Christian God chose him to be president at this moment in history and that his Almighty speaks directly to him, should preside over this American Inquisition. Bush's messianic bent came to light vividly in June 2003, when he announced that his God had inspired him to go fight those terrorists and to end the tyranny in Iraq. What, one wonders, is his God telling him now about the chaos?
This supposed pipeline to heaven is, of course, not new for kings and potentates. On his deathbed in 1516, King Ferdinand told his minions that he could not die yet: God had told him that he would move on from the conquest of Granada to lead a great crusade that would recapture Jerusalem. The messianic impulse is commonplace in history.
Now, we are just a few years into the Iraq era. The situation is getting worse, and there is no end in sight. When this nightmare ends, years of self-examination are sure to follow as happened after the Vietnam disaster. The Iraq syndrome will be lengthy. In the meantime, American Inquisition takes root. It is more hard-edged and mean-spirited than the Vietnam crackdown ... for one reason.
Though Bush's explanations for his wayward adventure may constantly change, though the enterprise may show itself to be a military and moral catastrophe of historic proportions, this American leader and his circle of illuminati are utterly convinced of their righteousness.
Toward their detractors they misappropriate, like inquisitors before them, the verse of John 15:6: "If any abide not in me, he should be cast forth as a branch and shall wither, and they shall gather him up and cast him into the fire, and he shall burn."
16 April, 2006
Republican lies about Iraqi Army
Most armies threaten imprisonment or fines for soldiers who abruptly leave their units, but the Iraqi army does not require its soldiers to sign contracts. That means they can quit anytime and casually treat enlistments as temporary jobs. Soldiers can even pick up their belongings and leave during missions — and often do without facing punishment.
The commander said a shortage of troops is the unit's biggest problem — and pinned the blame on both the policy and unmotivated soldiers.
"Under the military agreement, they can leave anytime," said Col. Alaa Kata al-Kafage, while his troops waited for a roadside bomb to be detonated. "After (soldiers) get paid and save a little bit of money, they leave."
"All the soldiers now, they don't care about the country. They care about the money," al-Kafage said. "It's too easy for them to quit. If someone punishes them, they can throw down their uniform and say, 'Have a nice day.'"
Iraqi officials, however, say they have no choice but to allow the policy, or they may gain virtually no volunteers.
The currentRepublicans continue to claim they are making progress in training Iraqi soldiers. B... S...
The commander said a shortage of troops is the unit's biggest problem — and pinned the blame on both the policy and unmotivated soldiers.
"Under the military agreement, they can leave anytime," said Col. Alaa Kata al-Kafage, while his troops waited for a roadside bomb to be detonated. "After (soldiers) get paid and save a little bit of money, they leave."
"All the soldiers now, they don't care about the country. They care about the money," al-Kafage said. "It's too easy for them to quit. If someone punishes them, they can throw down their uniform and say, 'Have a nice day.'"
Iraqi officials, however, say they have no choice but to allow the policy, or they may gain virtually no volunteers.
The currentRepublicans continue to claim they are making progress in training Iraqi soldiers. B... S...
cheney, halliburton, no-bid Iraq contract
I read the following today:
"The Cheneys' 2005 income included the vice president's $205,031 government salary and $211,465 in deferred compensation from Halliburton, the Dallas-based energy services firm he headed until Aug. 16, 2000.
Halliburton received the largest NO-BID contract and continues to operate in Iraq."
"The Cheneys' 2005 income included the vice president's $205,031 government salary and $211,465 in deferred compensation from Halliburton, the Dallas-based energy services firm he headed until Aug. 16, 2000.
Halliburton received the largest NO-BID contract and continues to operate in Iraq."
14 April, 2006
Rumsfeld the next scape goat?
A sixth former general joined the criticism of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on Thursday, saying Rumsfeld should resign for mishandling the war in Iraq."We need a new secretary of Defense," retired major general Charles Swannack, former commander of the Army's 82nd Airborne Division, said on CNN.
He said Rumsfeld had micromanaged the war.Retired major general John Batiste, who commanded the Army's 1st Infantry Division in Iraq in 2003 and 2004 agreed. He told USA TODAY on Thursday that Rumsfeld should step down because he ignored sound military advice about how to secure Iraq after Baghdad fell.
Batiste first criticized Rumsfeld in a speech last week."Sadly, we started something we weren't prepared to finish," Batiste said Thursday, adding that many senior officers shared his feelings on Rumsfeld.White House spokesman
Scott McClellan said that President Bush still "believes Secretary Rumsfeld is doing a very fine job." Remember when he said “you’re doing a heck of a job Brownie”
Swannack and Batiste are the latest additions to the retired generals who have criticized Rumsfeld. They include:• Marine lieutenant general Greg Newbold, the former Pentagon top operations officer, who called Iraq an "unnecessary war" in a Time magazine column this week.
• Major general Paul Eaton, who was in charge of training Iraqi troops in 2003 and 2004, wrote last month in The New York Times that Rumsfeld is "incompetent strategically, operationally and tactically."Army major general John Riggs, who told The Washington Post that his former colleagues in the military believe Rumsfeld and his close aides "should be cleared out."
Marine general Anthony Zinni, the former command of U.S. Central Command and a longtime critic, said Rumsfeld should retire.
Despite Bush's support, such criticism could be enough to help force out Rumsfeld, said Loren Thompson, a military expert at the Lexington Institute, a Virginia think tank.
"It is so uncommon for senior military officers in the United States to criticize civilian leaders that it has to make an impression on the White House"Thompson said.
However, Kurt Campbell at the Center for Strategic and International Studies said he doesn't "see any sign that the secretary is contemplating stepping down." and I wouldn't bet the farm on it.
He said Rumsfeld had micromanaged the war.Retired major general John Batiste, who commanded the Army's 1st Infantry Division in Iraq in 2003 and 2004 agreed. He told USA TODAY on Thursday that Rumsfeld should step down because he ignored sound military advice about how to secure Iraq after Baghdad fell.
Batiste first criticized Rumsfeld in a speech last week."Sadly, we started something we weren't prepared to finish," Batiste said Thursday, adding that many senior officers shared his feelings on Rumsfeld.White House spokesman
Scott McClellan said that President Bush still "believes Secretary Rumsfeld is doing a very fine job." Remember when he said “you’re doing a heck of a job Brownie”
Swannack and Batiste are the latest additions to the retired generals who have criticized Rumsfeld. They include:• Marine lieutenant general Greg Newbold, the former Pentagon top operations officer, who called Iraq an "unnecessary war" in a Time magazine column this week.
• Major general Paul Eaton, who was in charge of training Iraqi troops in 2003 and 2004, wrote last month in The New York Times that Rumsfeld is "incompetent strategically, operationally and tactically."Army major general John Riggs, who told The Washington Post that his former colleagues in the military believe Rumsfeld and his close aides "should be cleared out."
Marine general Anthony Zinni, the former command of U.S. Central Command and a longtime critic, said Rumsfeld should retire.
Despite Bush's support, such criticism could be enough to help force out Rumsfeld, said Loren Thompson, a military expert at the Lexington Institute, a Virginia think tank.
"It is so uncommon for senior military officers in the United States to criticize civilian leaders that it has to make an impression on the White House"Thompson said.
However, Kurt Campbell at the Center for Strategic and International Studies said he doesn't "see any sign that the secretary is contemplating stepping down." and I wouldn't bet the farm on it.
11 April, 2006
"the zealots rationale for war
Retired Lt. Gen. Gregory Newbold said he was outspoken in his criticism before the war, saying the "zealots' rationale for war made no sense." From 2000 until October 2002, Newbold served as director of operations for the Joint Chiefs. The U.S. invaded Iraq in March 2003.
At least two other retired generals have raised similar concerns in recent weeks about the administration's war policies, including Gen. Anthony Zinni, former U.S. Mideast commander.Overall there are about 132,000 U.S. forces in Iraq.
At least two other retired generals have raised similar concerns in recent weeks about the administration's war policies, including Gen. Anthony Zinni, former U.S. Mideast commander.Overall there are about 132,000 U.S. forces in Iraq.
10 April, 2006
It was Bush all along
President Bush's quest to muzzle leakers in his administration has always looked a bit odd. In the most charitable interpretation, it's a naïve waste of time and resources. Leaks are part of every administration, and Bush's claims that national security has been undermined appear dubious at best.
It is a Nixonesque attempt to intimidate anyone who dares interfere with administration policy by disclosing facts that it is hiding. Among the leaks that angered Bush most have been disclosures that the administration was engaging in wiretaps without court approval and that someone in the administration leaked the identity of a CIA operative. After two unproductive years, the federal investigation into the 2003 leak of the operative's identity has finally come full circle to wound the instigator of the probe himself — the president. Hello!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Vice President Cheney's top aide, testified that in the summer of 2003, Cheney told him that Bush had personally approved disclosing parts of the classified National Intelligence Estimate — though not the operative's name — to bolster one of the administration's key claims for going to war — Iraq was trying to buy uranium to produce nuclear weapons. That, like the administration's other rationales for war, proved false.
Presidents can and do declassify such data and that's precisely what Bush did, 10 DAYS AFTER Libby's disclosure, giving the public information it had a right to know. But first, the White House cherry-picked pieces to prop up its case and leaked them to a favored reporter. It's no wonder that the public does not trust these Republicans.
It is a Nixonesque attempt to intimidate anyone who dares interfere with administration policy by disclosing facts that it is hiding. Among the leaks that angered Bush most have been disclosures that the administration was engaging in wiretaps without court approval and that someone in the administration leaked the identity of a CIA operative. After two unproductive years, the federal investigation into the 2003 leak of the operative's identity has finally come full circle to wound the instigator of the probe himself — the president. Hello!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Vice President Cheney's top aide, testified that in the summer of 2003, Cheney told him that Bush had personally approved disclosing parts of the classified National Intelligence Estimate — though not the operative's name — to bolster one of the administration's key claims for going to war — Iraq was trying to buy uranium to produce nuclear weapons. That, like the administration's other rationales for war, proved false.
Presidents can and do declassify such data and that's precisely what Bush did, 10 DAYS AFTER Libby's disclosure, giving the public information it had a right to know. But first, the White House cherry-picked pieces to prop up its case and leaked them to a favored reporter. It's no wonder that the public does not trust these Republicans.
09 April, 2006
Bush the leaker-in-chief
The president, whose popularity is slumping, is on the defensive because of a prosecutor's disclosure that Bush authorized a former top official, Lewis "Scooter" Libby, to share intelligence data on Iraq in 2003 with a reporter to defend his decision to invade Iraq.
Sen. Arlen Specter said Sunday that "there's been enough of a showing here with what's been filed of record in court that the president of the United States owes a specific explanation to the American people.
The president has criticized the Congress for leaking and now we find out the the White House has leaked. For once the President needs to tell the truth as to why he leaked the information aimed at countering criticism of his reasons for taking America to war in Iraq.
That's my boy "Scooter" Don't let them make you the fall guy. Remember "Brownie"!
Sen. Arlen Specter said Sunday that "there's been enough of a showing here with what's been filed of record in court that the president of the United States owes a specific explanation to the American people.
The president has criticized the Congress for leaking and now we find out the the White House has leaked. For once the President needs to tell the truth as to why he leaked the information aimed at countering criticism of his reasons for taking America to war in Iraq.
That's my boy "Scooter" Don't let them make you the fall guy. Remember "Brownie"!
Bush's love for Delay
Living in and following Texas politics for over 50 years, redistricting was conducted every ten years after the census to reflect voter population changes.When the Republicans took over, they changed it right in the middle of the ten year period(and not for population changes but to secure and increase Republican winners) by Delay's getting campaign money to those in the Texas legislature who voted for the changes.
That is why Delay is Bush's hero.Take a look at a map of Delay's district before and after redistricting (it now looks like the snake he is) and you will understand the problem. That is not what he was indicted for, however.
That is why Delay is Bush's hero.Take a look at a map of Delay's district before and after redistricting (it now looks like the snake he is) and you will understand the problem. That is not what he was indicted for, however.
Bush lies again
Immigration legislation fell victim Friday to internal disputes in both parties. But Bush — echoing earlier complaints from Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn. — sought to lay all the fault with Reid, D-Nev."I call on the Senate minority leader to end his blocking tactics and allow the Senate to do its work and pass a fair, effective immigration reform bill," Bush said in his weekly radio address. He lied again.
Reid shot back that Bush and Frist "are flat-out wrong about what happened to the immigration bill," saying Democrats proved their commitment to a comprehensive, bipartisan measure by voting twice in favor of it.
"It was President Bush and Republicans in Congress who lacked the backbone to stand up to the extreme right wing of their party, filibustered reform twice in two days, and put partisan politics ahead of border security and immigration reform," Reid said.
Reid shot back that Bush and Frist "are flat-out wrong about what happened to the immigration bill," saying Democrats proved their commitment to a comprehensive, bipartisan measure by voting twice in favor of it.
"It was President Bush and Republicans in Congress who lacked the backbone to stand up to the extreme right wing of their party, filibustered reform twice in two days, and put partisan politics ahead of border security and immigration reform," Reid said.
08 April, 2006
are they going to get away with it AGAIN?
aIt is not a good time to be a Republican right now – unless Tom DeLay helped gerrymander your district to your Republican rule for life, of course. The GOP’s approval rating is now 30%, and 49% of the public wants to see the Demos take back Congress. For political junkies like me, it is going to be fascinating to see how the GOP plans to pull this one off without resorting to election-fixing or martial law. Whatever they come up with, it had better be good.
As GOP pollster Tony Fabrizio said, "The good news is Democrats don't have much of a plan. The bad news is they may not need one."The shrill jabbering from the Fox News pundits is not a good sign. The best they seem to be able to come up with so far is: (1) the tried and true Fear card (“If you vote Demo, they’ll lynch the President, and al Qaeda will win!”), and (2) the Everyone’s A Sinner defense (“The Democrats are just as corrupt as we are!”)
Which is probably true, but not much of a vote generator. Besides, the only credible Demo scandal competing for air time right now is Cynthia McKinney clocking a cop with a mobile phone. The American People see worse behavior on daytime talk shows.
Still, it’s a long ways yet. We’re still in Iraq, and we may be in Iran by then, and I wouldn’t put it beyond the Bush Posse to invade Iran just so the GOP can say in October 2008, “Who would you rather hand the reins over to now, huh?”
And it could backfire in spectacular fashion. I’m hesitant to call a Democratic(yes I said democratic) victory in 2008, but so far it looks like the only thing the GOP will be able to do to stop it (short of an executive order from Junior Bush declaring himself Supreme Chancellor) is to pull another Florida/Ohio. And what are the odds of them getting away with that three times in a row?
As GOP pollster Tony Fabrizio said, "The good news is Democrats don't have much of a plan. The bad news is they may not need one."The shrill jabbering from the Fox News pundits is not a good sign. The best they seem to be able to come up with so far is: (1) the tried and true Fear card (“If you vote Demo, they’ll lynch the President, and al Qaeda will win!”), and (2) the Everyone’s A Sinner defense (“The Democrats are just as corrupt as we are!”)
Which is probably true, but not much of a vote generator. Besides, the only credible Demo scandal competing for air time right now is Cynthia McKinney clocking a cop with a mobile phone. The American People see worse behavior on daytime talk shows.
Still, it’s a long ways yet. We’re still in Iraq, and we may be in Iran by then, and I wouldn’t put it beyond the Bush Posse to invade Iran just so the GOP can say in October 2008, “Who would you rather hand the reins over to now, huh?”
And it could backfire in spectacular fashion. I’m hesitant to call a Democratic(yes I said democratic) victory in 2008, but so far it looks like the only thing the GOP will be able to do to stop it (short of an executive order from Junior Bush declaring himself Supreme Chancellor) is to pull another Florida/Ohio. And what are the odds of them getting away with that three times in a row?
Republicans lack secuity action
Ports, chemical and nuclear plants and mass transit systems are still vulnerable nearly five years after the Sept. 11 attacks.
The nation also has NOT implemented all of the recommendations of the bipartisan Sept. 11 commission, which recently gave the administration and Congress a report card "filled with Fs, Ds and incompletes. Too often, the Bush administration and Republicans in Congress have failed to back up their rhetoric with robust action.
The American people want and deserve a change of direction. President Bush has cut money in his budget for the Cooperative Threat Reduction Program while the nation is more dependent than ever on foreign oil.
Anti-Americanism is growing, and President Bush has refused to hold civilian leaders in his administration accountable for their incompetence and miscalculations on Iraq.
The nation can no longer ignore the dangerous deficits and exploding national debt, which has grown by $3 trillion over the last five years. Fiscal responsibility is a foundation for our national security,And we cannot continue to borrow hundreds of billions of dollars every year from foreign countries such as China and Saudi Arabia."
The nation also has NOT implemented all of the recommendations of the bipartisan Sept. 11 commission, which recently gave the administration and Congress a report card "filled with Fs, Ds and incompletes. Too often, the Bush administration and Republicans in Congress have failed to back up their rhetoric with robust action.
The American people want and deserve a change of direction. President Bush has cut money in his budget for the Cooperative Threat Reduction Program while the nation is more dependent than ever on foreign oil.
Anti-Americanism is growing, and President Bush has refused to hold civilian leaders in his administration accountable for their incompetence and miscalculations on Iraq.
The nation can no longer ignore the dangerous deficits and exploding national debt, which has grown by $3 trillion over the last five years. Fiscal responsibility is a foundation for our national security,And we cannot continue to borrow hundreds of billions of dollars every year from foreign countries such as China and Saudi Arabia."
Impeachment-a solution?
Read today: This administration is the most corrupt (leagally and morally) in the history of this country. Yet, there they sit with smuggness oozing from every pore.
This administration makes Nixon look like a Boy Scout. All his administration did was break and enter and steal political strategy documents from the Democrats and then try to cover it up.
They didn't leak intelligence information to justify decimating a country for its oil or to get even because Big Daddy Bush couldn't win a war there. They didn't illegally tap the phones of American citizens. They didn't do their best to "burn" the Bill of Rights, etc., etc. Yet, look what happened to Nixon.
Then there was Bill Clinton who was impeached for lying about getting a BJ from Monica. For cripes sake! What is going on in this country? IMPEACH THIS WHOLE LOUSY CROOKED ADMINISTRATION! (a thought for elections in the fall of 2006)
This administration makes Nixon look like a Boy Scout. All his administration did was break and enter and steal political strategy documents from the Democrats and then try to cover it up.
They didn't leak intelligence information to justify decimating a country for its oil or to get even because Big Daddy Bush couldn't win a war there. They didn't illegally tap the phones of American citizens. They didn't do their best to "burn" the Bill of Rights, etc., etc. Yet, look what happened to Nixon.
Then there was Bill Clinton who was impeached for lying about getting a BJ from Monica. For cripes sake! What is going on in this country? IMPEACH THIS WHOLE LOUSY CROOKED ADMINISTRATION! (a thought for elections in the fall of 2006)
polls-people finally waking up
As bad as Bush's numbers may be, Congress' are worse. Just 30% of the public approves of the GOP-led Congress' job performance, and Republicans seem to be shouldering the blame, as they contol everything.
By a 49-33 margin, the public favors Democrats over Republicans when asked which party should control Congress.
By a 49-33 margin, the public favors Democrats over Republicans when asked which party should control Congress.
07 April, 2006
Harry Taylor and Bush
President Bush often holds "town hall" events where he takes questions from a hand picked crowd of "real people." Yesterday one of the people was, well, real, a small business owner named Harry Taylor
Harry Taylor stood up and said to the President of the United States:
"You never stop talking about freedom, and I appreciate that. But while I listen to you talk about freedom, I see you assert your right to tap my telephone, to arrest me and hold me without charges, to try to preclude me from breathing clean air and drinking clean water and eating safe food. If I were a woman, you'd like to restrict my opportunity to make a choice and decision about whether I can abort a pregnancy on my own behalf. You are—
I don't have a question. What I wanted to say to you is that I—in my lifetime, I have never felt more ashamed of, nor more frightened by my leadership in Washington, including the presidency, by the Senate, and I would hope—I feel like despite your rhetoric, that compassion and common sense have been left far behind during your administration.
I would hope from time to time that you have the humility and the grace to be ashamed of yourself, inside yourself. And I also want to say I really appreciate the courtesy of allowing me to speak what I'm saying to you right now. That is part of what this country is about."
Harry Taylor stood up and said to the President of the United States:
"You never stop talking about freedom, and I appreciate that. But while I listen to you talk about freedom, I see you assert your right to tap my telephone, to arrest me and hold me without charges, to try to preclude me from breathing clean air and drinking clean water and eating safe food. If I were a woman, you'd like to restrict my opportunity to make a choice and decision about whether I can abort a pregnancy on my own behalf. You are—
I don't have a question. What I wanted to say to you is that I—in my lifetime, I have never felt more ashamed of, nor more frightened by my leadership in Washington, including the presidency, by the Senate, and I would hope—I feel like despite your rhetoric, that compassion and common sense have been left far behind during your administration.
I would hope from time to time that you have the humility and the grace to be ashamed of yourself, inside yourself. And I also want to say I really appreciate the courtesy of allowing me to speak what I'm saying to you right now. That is part of what this country is about."
06 April, 2006
commander-in-chief or leaker-in-chief
Whatever its significance for the Libby case, the latest filing helps to resolve a lingering question that arose last February regarding the Vice President's role in authorizing the disclosure of classified information (Secrecy News, 02/16/06).
It appears that the Vice President did not direct disclosure on his own authority but on that of the President. "Defendant [Libby] testified that the Vice President later advised him that the President had authorized defendant to disclose the relevant portions of the NIE.
Defendant testified that he also spoke to David Addington, then Counsel to the Vice President, whom defendant considered to be an expert in national security law, and Mr. Addington opined that Presidential authorization to publicly disclose a document amounted to a declassification of the document," the government filing said
It appears that the Vice President did not direct disclosure on his own authority but on that of the President. "Defendant [Libby] testified that the Vice President later advised him that the President had authorized defendant to disclose the relevant portions of the NIE.
Defendant testified that he also spoke to David Addington, then Counsel to the Vice President, whom defendant considered to be an expert in national security law, and Mr. Addington opined that Presidential authorization to publicly disclose a document amounted to a declassification of the document," the government filing said
05 April, 2006
the new Republican budget
The new reverse Robin Hood budget proposal would: cut $167 billion dollars over 5 years from vital domestic services, including health care, education, and family services, give away $228 billion dollars in tax breaks, mostly to the very rich ,and drive up the federal deficit by another $254 billion dollars
04 April, 2006
Republicans, Delay and the money
With accusations of political corruption, former Majority Leader Tom Delay said Tuesday he is resigning from Congress in the face of a tough re-election race, closing out a career that blended unflinching conservatism with a bare-knuckled attack, attack, smear, smear political style. (the chickens are finally coming home to roost.)
"I think I could have won this seat but it would have been nasty.(Bull, Republicans revel in "nasty") It would have cost a fortune to do it," said the Texas Republican, first elected in 1984.
He secured lots of money to legislators in Texas who voted to gerrymander voting districts in Texas so Republicans could win in Texas and in the Congress. No wonder Bush continues to praise him. Down the line they will get Delay his own talk show or something.
That is typical Republican speak, its not about what is good for the country, its only about the money to them . They have most of the money coming in from the folks at the top, and the Republicans are giving it back to them 10-fold in tax breaks, a neat political trick.
"I think I could have won this seat but it would have been nasty.(Bull, Republicans revel in "nasty") It would have cost a fortune to do it," said the Texas Republican, first elected in 1984.
He secured lots of money to legislators in Texas who voted to gerrymander voting districts in Texas so Republicans could win in Texas and in the Congress. No wonder Bush continues to praise him. Down the line they will get Delay his own talk show or something.
That is typical Republican speak, its not about what is good for the country, its only about the money to them . They have most of the money coming in from the folks at the top, and the Republicans are giving it back to them 10-fold in tax breaks, a neat political trick.
03 April, 2006
Republicans on immigration laws
Do you know that Republicans ignored enforcement of existing immigrant labor laws until they are now forced by public opinion to act concerned. Do you want to make criminals out of 12-20 million people and their children who by and large just walked across open fields and came to work in this country, not take jobs to India, China or Mexico, Why not make criminals out of those who hire them???
They are not about to arrest employers as Republicans are for the owners who are mostly Republicans.. Do you think it would be feasible to deport 12-20 million people out of this country? Have a nice day.
They are not about to arrest employers as Republicans are for the owners who are mostly Republicans.. Do you think it would be feasible to deport 12-20 million people out of this country? Have a nice day.
30 March, 2006
and the enemy is.....?
Epitaph:
Between WW11 and the collapse of the Soviet Union, we saw our enemies as the evil ones--just as we do now. The enemy had WMD--just as they do now. They spied on their citizens without warrants--just as we do now. Their citizens could be fired and were called unpatriotic for criticizing their leader--just as we can now.
They excluded god from their government--just as we do now. They had secret prisons where they tortured people--just as we do now. They believed in spreading their ideology throughout the world at any cost--just as we do now. They sent their soldiers to die in the middle east--just as we do now.
Their empire ended in economic collapse--our national debt will double under these Republicans to over $9 trillion. We met the enemy and it could have been us.
Between WW11 and the collapse of the Soviet Union, we saw our enemies as the evil ones--just as we do now. The enemy had WMD--just as they do now. They spied on their citizens without warrants--just as we do now. Their citizens could be fired and were called unpatriotic for criticizing their leader--just as we can now.
They excluded god from their government--just as we do now. They had secret prisons where they tortured people--just as we do now. They believed in spreading their ideology throughout the world at any cost--just as we do now. They sent their soldiers to die in the middle east--just as we do now.
Their empire ended in economic collapse--our national debt will double under these Republicans to over $9 trillion. We met the enemy and it could have been us.
who can disobey the law
Must the President of the United States obey the law? Ordinarily, the answer of course is yes, unless the law itself is unconstitutional. However, the President does not have the last word on what is or is not constitutional. That decision belongs to the Supreme Court.
Hey, if the President can pick and chose so can we. A new bill introduced by Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) yesterday would set the stage for the Supreme Court to consider the legality of the Bush Administration's warrantless surveillance program by granting legal standing to litigants seeking to challenge the program.
Hey, if the President can pick and chose so can we. A new bill introduced by Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) yesterday would set the stage for the Supreme Court to consider the legality of the Bush Administration's warrantless surveillance program by granting legal standing to litigants seeking to challenge the program.
borrow and spend republicans
The national debt will almost double to more than $9 trillion under Bush's tenure in office, a natural result from a borrow and spend fiscal policy that says you can have guns, butter, tax cuts for the wealthy , and never mind the deficit. ... It holds no real plan or prospect of balancing the budget.
28 March, 2006
foreign policy,international relations
The Bush administration, with its insistence on absolute power for the executive branch, has managed to blow this opportunity to win hearts and minds abroad. Administration lawyers will argue Tuesday that Hamdan has almost no rights. Worse, the government contends that the Supreme Court has no right to be hearing his case.
A former taxi driver with a fourth-grade education in his native Yemen, he is one of just 10 detainees who have actually been charged with terrorism and war crimes.Whether he's a terrorist collaborator or a flunky who was swept off the battlefield in Afghanistan is hard to determine. The details of his supposed offenses are unknown.
The message from the Supreme Court Tuesday could have been a shining slice of the democratic ideal: the rule of law by an independent judiciary, a concept sacred to the Founding Fathers and a model for the world. Instead, Tuesday's hearing projects the image of an administration that has botched the handling of prisoner issues and given the USA a black eye internationally in the process.
Hamdan, thought to be in his mid-30s, has become a high-profile pawn in the administration's stubborn contention that it doesn't have to answer to anyone — not Congress, not the courts and not international treaties and organizations — in its pursuit of the war on terror.
The administration asserts the right to unilaterally designate individuals as "enemy combatants" and hold them prisoner indefinitely, possibly forever.
A former taxi driver with a fourth-grade education in his native Yemen, he is one of just 10 detainees who have actually been charged with terrorism and war crimes.Whether he's a terrorist collaborator or a flunky who was swept off the battlefield in Afghanistan is hard to determine. The details of his supposed offenses are unknown.
The message from the Supreme Court Tuesday could have been a shining slice of the democratic ideal: the rule of law by an independent judiciary, a concept sacred to the Founding Fathers and a model for the world. Instead, Tuesday's hearing projects the image of an administration that has botched the handling of prisoner issues and given the USA a black eye internationally in the process.
Hamdan, thought to be in his mid-30s, has become a high-profile pawn in the administration's stubborn contention that it doesn't have to answer to anyone — not Congress, not the courts and not international treaties and organizations — in its pursuit of the war on terror.
The administration asserts the right to unilaterally designate individuals as "enemy combatants" and hold them prisoner indefinitely, possibly forever.
the soldiers media and attitudes
A new Zogby poll came out today. What is getting coverage in a New York Times article is that 72% of U.S. soldiers in Iraq believe we should substantially withdraw sooner rather than later.
85% believe that the primary reason we are in Iraq is “to retaliate for Saddam’s role in the 9-11 attacks,” while 77% said that “the main or a major reason” for the war was “to stop Saddam from protecting al Qaeda in Iraq.”
This is a year and a half after the 9/11 Commission dismissed any meaningful relationship between Iraq and the 9/11 attacks or al Qaeda. Perhaps we cannot expect American soldiers to be better informed than the public at large and a large slice of the public has often linked Iraq and 9/11, in no small part because of innuendo from the Administration or direct claims, particularly from Vice President Cheney.
Yet, today polls indicate that less than a third of the public still believe that Iraq had anything to do with 9/11. Soldiers in Iraq get their news through media that the military controls or at least is aware of. It is a shame that they are so poorly informed about why they are fighting.
85% believe that the primary reason we are in Iraq is “to retaliate for Saddam’s role in the 9-11 attacks,” while 77% said that “the main or a major reason” for the war was “to stop Saddam from protecting al Qaeda in Iraq.”
This is a year and a half after the 9/11 Commission dismissed any meaningful relationship between Iraq and the 9/11 attacks or al Qaeda. Perhaps we cannot expect American soldiers to be better informed than the public at large and a large slice of the public has often linked Iraq and 9/11, in no small part because of innuendo from the Administration or direct claims, particularly from Vice President Cheney.
Yet, today polls indicate that less than a third of the public still believe that Iraq had anything to do with 9/11. Soldiers in Iraq get their news through media that the military controls or at least is aware of. It is a shame that they are so poorly informed about why they are fighting.
26 March, 2006
mideast policy,lobbyists, vulnerable to terrorism?
According to the two academics, the United States' "unwavering support" for Israel — including the $3 billion a year we give in direct assistance, as well as the decades of unequivocal military and diplomatic support we've provided — is justified by neither strategic nor moral imperatives.
Perhaps Israel was a strategic asset during the Cold War (oil embargo aside), but more recently it has inflamed Arab and Islamic public opinion and emboldened the world's Osama bin Ladens, they say.
It has made us more — not less — vulnerable to terrorism. What's more, Israel routinely ignores U.S. requests (to stop building settlements, say, or end "targeted assassinations"). Our acceptance of its nuclear arsenal makes us look hypocritical on proliferation issues.
Nor is our support of Israel morally justifiable, according to Walt and Mearsheimer. Despite the common view, Israel is, in fact, the Goliath in the Middle East, not the David. It is not a truly democratic country, but an avowedly Jewish state in which Arabs live as second-class citizens, a country that has committed crimes against its Palestinian neighbors with which the U.S. should be ashamed to be associated.
So, ask the authors, if neither shared strategic interests nor compelling moral imperatives explain U.S. support for Israel, what does? You guessed it: the "Israel Lobby."
Its most powerful arm is AIPAC, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (the nation's second most powerful lobby behind AARP, they suggest), but it also includes Christian evangelicals (such as Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson), Jewish members of Congress (such as Democratic Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut), Christian Zionists in Congress (such as Rep. Tom DeLay, a Texas Republican) and media cheerleaders (such as the Weekly Standard's William Kristol and the entire Wall Street Journal editorial page).
It has its own think tanks, including the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. It has operatives like Martin Indyk — a former AIPAC official, former U.S. ambassador to Israel and now head of the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution.
Together, these groups give money, votes, endorsements and intellectual firepower to favored government officials. And enemies of Israel, beware! "The Lobby" can make or break candidates (as when it forced former Sen. Charles Percy of Illinois out of office in 1984) and policymakers (as when it persuaded President Carter not to appoint George Ball as secretary of State).
"The bottom line is that AIPAC, a de facto agent for a foreign government, has a stranglehold on Congress," Walt and Mearsheimer contend.
Most important these days, the lobby includes the hawkish neoconservative Zionists around President Bush — Paul Wolfowitz, Douglas Feith and Elliott Abrams, to name three — who, the academics say, were the driving force behind the movement to topple Saddam Hussein for the benefit of Israel.
It seems silly to deny that a powerful lobby on behalf of Israel exists. The real question is how pernicious it is. Does it, in fact, persuade us to act counter to our national interest — or is it a positive thing? We report, you decide.
Perhaps Israel was a strategic asset during the Cold War (oil embargo aside), but more recently it has inflamed Arab and Islamic public opinion and emboldened the world's Osama bin Ladens, they say.
It has made us more — not less — vulnerable to terrorism. What's more, Israel routinely ignores U.S. requests (to stop building settlements, say, or end "targeted assassinations"). Our acceptance of its nuclear arsenal makes us look hypocritical on proliferation issues.
Nor is our support of Israel morally justifiable, according to Walt and Mearsheimer. Despite the common view, Israel is, in fact, the Goliath in the Middle East, not the David. It is not a truly democratic country, but an avowedly Jewish state in which Arabs live as second-class citizens, a country that has committed crimes against its Palestinian neighbors with which the U.S. should be ashamed to be associated.
So, ask the authors, if neither shared strategic interests nor compelling moral imperatives explain U.S. support for Israel, what does? You guessed it: the "Israel Lobby."
Its most powerful arm is AIPAC, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (the nation's second most powerful lobby behind AARP, they suggest), but it also includes Christian evangelicals (such as Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson), Jewish members of Congress (such as Democratic Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut), Christian Zionists in Congress (such as Rep. Tom DeLay, a Texas Republican) and media cheerleaders (such as the Weekly Standard's William Kristol and the entire Wall Street Journal editorial page).
It has its own think tanks, including the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. It has operatives like Martin Indyk — a former AIPAC official, former U.S. ambassador to Israel and now head of the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution.
Together, these groups give money, votes, endorsements and intellectual firepower to favored government officials. And enemies of Israel, beware! "The Lobby" can make or break candidates (as when it forced former Sen. Charles Percy of Illinois out of office in 1984) and policymakers (as when it persuaded President Carter not to appoint George Ball as secretary of State).
"The bottom line is that AIPAC, a de facto agent for a foreign government, has a stranglehold on Congress," Walt and Mearsheimer contend.
Most important these days, the lobby includes the hawkish neoconservative Zionists around President Bush — Paul Wolfowitz, Douglas Feith and Elliott Abrams, to name three — who, the academics say, were the driving force behind the movement to topple Saddam Hussein for the benefit of Israel.
It seems silly to deny that a powerful lobby on behalf of Israel exists. The real question is how pernicious it is. Does it, in fact, persuade us to act counter to our national interest — or is it a positive thing? We report, you decide.
25 March, 2006
a question for Republicans?
The Quran is very clear and the words of our prophet are very clear. There can only be one outcome: death," said cleric Khoja Ahmad Sediqi, who is also a member of the Supreme Court. "If Karzai releases him, it will play into the hands of our enemy and there could be an uprising."
Afghanistan's constitution is based on Shariah law, which states that any Muslim who rejects Islam should be sentenced to death, according to Ahmad Fahim Hakim, deputy chairman of the state-sponsored Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission.
A respected cleric in the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif, Mohammed Qasim, said, "We don't care if the West drops its support for us. God will look after Afghanistan.
As a Christian, my question is, " Why don't we get the hell out of there?"
Afghanistan's constitution is based on Shariah law, which states that any Muslim who rejects Islam should be sentenced to death, according to Ahmad Fahim Hakim, deputy chairman of the state-sponsored Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission.
A respected cleric in the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif, Mohammed Qasim, said, "We don't care if the West drops its support for us. God will look after Afghanistan.
As a Christian, my question is, " Why don't we get the hell out of there?"
what are these Republicans really up to?
DOD and Army regulations "allow collection about U.S. persons reasonably believed to be engaged, or about to engage, in International terrorist activities."
"Remember, merely receiving information does not constitute 'collection' under AR [Army Regulation] 381-10; collection entails receiving 'for use'," Gen. Noonan wrote.
"Army intelligence may always receive information, if only to determine its intelligence value and whether it can be collected, retained, or disseminated in accordance with governing policy."
The distinction between "receiving" information (always permitted) and "collecting" it (permitted only in certain circumstances) appears to offer considerable leeway for domestic surveillance activities under the existing legal framework.
This in turn makes it harder to understand why the NSA domestic surveillance program departed from previous practice. It makes you wonder what these Republicans are really up to, doesn't it?
"Remember, merely receiving information does not constitute 'collection' under AR [Army Regulation] 381-10; collection entails receiving 'for use'," Gen. Noonan wrote.
"Army intelligence may always receive information, if only to determine its intelligence value and whether it can be collected, retained, or disseminated in accordance with governing policy."
The distinction between "receiving" information (always permitted) and "collecting" it (permitted only in certain circumstances) appears to offer considerable leeway for domestic surveillance activities under the existing legal framework.
This in turn makes it harder to understand why the NSA domestic surveillance program departed from previous practice. It makes you wonder what these Republicans are really up to, doesn't it?
Afghanistan update
Afghan and U.S. troops backed up by American aircraft fought suspected Taliban rebels in southern Afghanistan on Saturday, leaving one U.S. service member and an unknown number of militants dead, officials said.
A second U.S. service member and an Afghan soldier were wounded in the fighting in Helmand province's Sangin district, a hotbed of insurgency and the booming drug trade, a U.S. military statement said.
Fighting has spiked in southern Afghanistan in the past year, leaving swaths of it off-limits to aid workers and raising concerns for the country's future (and for you "Sleeve Christians") IN A COUNTRY WHERE CONVERTING FROM ISLAM TO CHRISTIANITY IS STILL A CRIME PUNISHABLE BY DEATH.
A second U.S. service member and an Afghan soldier were wounded in the fighting in Helmand province's Sangin district, a hotbed of insurgency and the booming drug trade, a U.S. military statement said.
Fighting has spiked in southern Afghanistan in the past year, leaving swaths of it off-limits to aid workers and raising concerns for the country's future (and for you "Sleeve Christians") IN A COUNTRY WHERE CONVERTING FROM ISLAM TO CHRISTIANITY IS STILL A CRIME PUNISHABLE BY DEATH.
24 March, 2006
consrvatives beginning to flee
Even Wm F Buckley (Mr.Conservative) now acknowledges the failure in Iraq--listen to what he says (and I quote)."One can't doubt that the American objective in Iraq has failed.
Our mission has failed because Iraqi animosities have proved uncontainable by an invading army of 130,000 Americans. The great human reserves that call for civil life haven't proved strong enough. .The Iraqis say that everything is the fault of the Americans.
The Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, elucidates on the complaint against Americans. It is not only that the invaders are American, it is that they are "Zionists."
President Bush, ultimately -has to cope with the postulates and decide how to proceed. One of these postulates, from the beginning, was that the Iraqi people, whatever their tribal differences, would suspend internal divisions in order to get on with life in a political structure that guaranteed them religious freedom.
The accompanying postulate was that the invading American army would succeed in training Iraqi soldiers and policymakers to cope with insurgents bent on violence.
They haven't happened and the administration has, now, to cope with failure. The failure in Iraq does not force us to generalize that violence and anti-democratic movements always prevail. It does call on us to adjust to the question.
It is healthier for the disillusioned American to concede that in one theater in the Mideast, the postulates didn't work. The alternative would be to abandon the postulates. To do that would be to register a kind of philosophical despair. " (unquote)
Some of us have known this all along.
Our mission has failed because Iraqi animosities have proved uncontainable by an invading army of 130,000 Americans. The great human reserves that call for civil life haven't proved strong enough. .The Iraqis say that everything is the fault of the Americans.
The Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, elucidates on the complaint against Americans. It is not only that the invaders are American, it is that they are "Zionists."
President Bush, ultimately -has to cope with the postulates and decide how to proceed. One of these postulates, from the beginning, was that the Iraqi people, whatever their tribal differences, would suspend internal divisions in order to get on with life in a political structure that guaranteed them religious freedom.
The accompanying postulate was that the invading American army would succeed in training Iraqi soldiers and policymakers to cope with insurgents bent on violence.
They haven't happened and the administration has, now, to cope with failure. The failure in Iraq does not force us to generalize that violence and anti-democratic movements always prevail. It does call on us to adjust to the question.
It is healthier for the disillusioned American to concede that in one theater in the Mideast, the postulates didn't work. The alternative would be to abandon the postulates. To do that would be to register a kind of philosophical despair. " (unquote)
Some of us have known this all along.
23 March, 2006
result of republicans hiring rich cronies
Medical and financial information gathered on millions of Americans by Medicare, Medicaid and other government programs is vulnerable to thieves or pranksters because of inadequate computer security, federal investigators say.
Investigators for the GAO reviewed management and audit reports from 2004 and 2005 that outline security practices at 13 Health and Human Services divisions of the federal government and found:
• Anti-virus software not installed or up to date.
• Lack of adequate control over computer passwords.
• Employees and contractors serving without background checks.
• Inadequate physical controls to prevent spying or theft, such as non-working surveillance cameras and unrestricted access to a data center.
"Fundamentally, it's an organization that is behind in making security part of its regular operations," says Alan Paller, who has seen the report but was not involved in writing it. Paller is research director at security firm the SANS Institute in Bethesda, Md. "It's very dangerous for health care data."
This is what happens when you hire your rich cronies in the top jobs.
Investigators for the GAO reviewed management and audit reports from 2004 and 2005 that outline security practices at 13 Health and Human Services divisions of the federal government and found:
• Anti-virus software not installed or up to date.
• Lack of adequate control over computer passwords.
• Employees and contractors serving without background checks.
• Inadequate physical controls to prevent spying or theft, such as non-working surveillance cameras and unrestricted access to a data center.
"Fundamentally, it's an organization that is behind in making security part of its regular operations," says Alan Paller, who has seen the report but was not involved in writing it. Paller is research director at security firm the SANS Institute in Bethesda, Md. "It's very dangerous for health care data."
This is what happens when you hire your rich cronies in the top jobs.
22 March, 2006
Republicans on fairness
Over the past few years, CEO and top executive pay has gone through the roof - often regardless of whether they are doing their jobs well. In just ten years, the average compensation of a CEO at the largest corporations jumped from $3.7 million to $9.1 million. That's an increase of almost 150%, and yet economists say the pay hikes haven't meant these companies performed any better.
It's wrong for the privileged few to keep getting raises while their companies aren't reaching their goals - or while their workers don't get a fair share of the pie. Some of these CEOs have even slashed pension funds, but found a way to reward themselves with massive pay hikes. This is wrong.
And as CEO pay shoots through the roof, the minimum wage has been stuck at $5.15 per hour for ten years -- which means someone can work full-time and still raise their kids in abject poverty.
So CEO pay goes up 150% in just a few years, and minimum wage worker pay goes up 0% in 10 years. Whatever happened to getting a fair day's pay for a hard day's work? How can Republicans think this is just or fair?
It's wrong for the privileged few to keep getting raises while their companies aren't reaching their goals - or while their workers don't get a fair share of the pie. Some of these CEOs have even slashed pension funds, but found a way to reward themselves with massive pay hikes. This is wrong.
And as CEO pay shoots through the roof, the minimum wage has been stuck at $5.15 per hour for ten years -- which means someone can work full-time and still raise their kids in abject poverty.
So CEO pay goes up 150% in just a few years, and minimum wage worker pay goes up 0% in 10 years. Whatever happened to getting a fair day's pay for a hard day's work? How can Republicans think this is just or fair?
20 March, 2006
Republican budget for you
Republican budget and consequences:
Social Security: Bush is trying to use the budget to sneak through his old $700 billion dollar plan to privatize Social Security and immediately slash benefits by $6.3 billion dollars.
Health Care: Bush would slash Medicaid by $13.7 billion over 5 years, abandoning millions of young, elderly, poor and disabled Americans who depend on Medicaid as their health care option of last resort.
Education: Bush is pushing for the largest cut in the history of the Department of Education, and to completely eliminate the Perkins loan, a vital program for college students in need.
Child care: Bush wants to kick 400,000 children out of child care programs for low income working families.
Budget busting tax breaks for the rich: Bush's budget would only continue to explode the deficit by giving away over $900 billion dollars to richest 1% of the population over 10 years.
Deeper debt: Bush wants to give so much away to millionaires that even after his service cuts the annual deficit would grow by almost $200 billion dollars.
Social Security: Bush is trying to use the budget to sneak through his old $700 billion dollar plan to privatize Social Security and immediately slash benefits by $6.3 billion dollars.
Health Care: Bush would slash Medicaid by $13.7 billion over 5 years, abandoning millions of young, elderly, poor and disabled Americans who depend on Medicaid as their health care option of last resort.
Education: Bush is pushing for the largest cut in the history of the Department of Education, and to completely eliminate the Perkins loan, a vital program for college students in need.
Child care: Bush wants to kick 400,000 children out of child care programs for low income working families.
Budget busting tax breaks for the rich: Bush's budget would only continue to explode the deficit by giving away over $900 billion dollars to richest 1% of the population over 10 years.
Deeper debt: Bush wants to give so much away to millionaires that even after his service cuts the annual deficit would grow by almost $200 billion dollars.
more prisoner abuse in Iraq
Check out the once secret Camp Nama, the secret headquarters of a military unit known as Task Force 6-26 at the Baghdad Airport for more abuse before and after the abuse of Abu Ghraib was made public.
Iraqi police,US troops,execution?
read today; Iraqi police have accused US troops of executing 11 people, including a 75-year-old woman and a 6-month-old infant (unusual because it originated with Iraqi plice and they were willing to attach their names to it) in the aftermath of a raid last Wednesday on a house about 60 miles north of Baghdad.
Afghanistan,still an Islamic country persecuting Christians
Read today 3-20-06: An Afghan man is being prosecuted in a Kabul court and could be sentenced to death on a charge of converting from Islam to Christianity, a crime under the current Afghan's Islamic laws. This is a country that we are fighting and dying for????
Buffet views on weakening dollar
The so-called Oracle of Omaha,Warren Buffett, the 75-year-old billionaire investor and chairman of insurance and industrial conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway reaffirmed his views on the dollar, which he expects will weaken "over time" due to U.S. fiscal policies.
"I think over time the dollar is going to weaken. I think that we are following a policy that will cause the dollar to weaken over time." he said. "It's the consumer's action in the end that is doing it but we have no governmental policy that counters the fact we are sending a couple of billion dollars a day abroad.
We are trading - we are buying goods and we are selling capital."
"I think over time the dollar is going to weaken. I think that we are following a policy that will cause the dollar to weaken over time." he said. "It's the consumer's action in the end that is doing it but we have no governmental policy that counters the fact we are sending a couple of billion dollars a day abroad.
We are trading - we are buying goods and we are selling capital."
Republicans sticking to their Iraq story
Vice President Cheney, appearing on CBS' Face the Nation, rejected Allawi's assessment that Iraq is in a state of civil war and said insurgents have "reached a stage of desperation."
Cheney also said he did not regret previous statements — that U.S. forces would be greeted as liberators and that the insurgency was in its last throes — and said they "were basically accurate, reflect reality."
Apparently, if you tell a lie often enough and stick to your story, people are expected to believe you and know what the party line continues to be.l
Cheney also said he did not regret previous statements — that U.S. forces would be greeted as liberators and that the insurgency was in its last throes — and said they "were basically accurate, reflect reality."
Apparently, if you tell a lie often enough and stick to your story, people are expected to believe you and know what the party line continues to be.l
Corporations shipping jobs overseas update
Scores of Western companies have been cutting costs by shifting software development, engineering design and routine office functions to countries such as India, where English-speaking workers are plentiful and wages are low.
Dell plans to double the number of its employees in India to 20,000 in three years, Chairman Michael Dell said Monday.
Dell plans to double the number of its employees in India to 20,000 in three years, Chairman Michael Dell said Monday.
19 March, 2006
partial account of Iraqi dead
"At least" 2,314 members of the U.S. military have died, not counting (1)"contractors" (2) Iraqi civilians (3) the tens of thousands that have been wounded, and the one in five surviving soldiers that have lingering mental problems.
update Iraq, someone update republicans
"It is unfortunate that we are in civil war. We are losing each day as an average 50 to 60 people throughout the country, if not more," Ayad Allawi told the British Broadcasting Corp. "If this is not civil war, then God knows what civil war is."
Allawi, who heads the Iraqi National List, a secular alliance of Shiite and Sunni politicians, said the violence in the country was moving toward "the point of no return."
He said not only that Iraq could "fall apart," but added that "sectarianism will spread throughout the region, and even Europe and the United States would not be spared all the violence that may occur as a result of sectarian problems in this region."
Allawi, who heads the Iraqi National List, a secular alliance of Shiite and Sunni politicians, said the violence in the country was moving toward "the point of no return."
He said not only that Iraq could "fall apart," but added that "sectarianism will spread throughout the region, and even Europe and the United States would not be spared all the violence that may occur as a result of sectarian problems in this region."
18 March, 2006
Iraq,strike-first,USA weakened,lack of trust
The Iraq invasion, far from being a success, provides a cautionary tale about just why strike-first needs to remain, as in the past, the final option. In Iraq, it vaulted to the top of the agenda. Key administration figures — notably Vice President Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld — had been itching for a war with Iraq long before 9/11.
After the terror attacks, they asserted links between Saddam and al-Qaeda where there was none. Because the administration rushed into war without building alliances, few countries joined in.
After three years of turmoil, Iraq stands on the brink of civil war. Al-Qaeda operatives who weren't in Iraq before have gone there to fight U.S. forces. Neighboring Iran is increasingly influential with Iraqi Shiites, compounding the nuclear threat Iran presents.
Worse, because of Iraq, the U.S. ability to use pre-emption in the future, when it might really be needed, is weakened. Most of the world sees the USA as a global bully and its intelligence as suspect. U.S. forces are overstretched. And getting backing for a new pre-emptive attack from a public made wary by the Iraq experience would be difficult.
After the terror attacks, they asserted links between Saddam and al-Qaeda where there was none. Because the administration rushed into war without building alliances, few countries joined in.
After three years of turmoil, Iraq stands on the brink of civil war. Al-Qaeda operatives who weren't in Iraq before have gone there to fight U.S. forces. Neighboring Iran is increasingly influential with Iraqi Shiites, compounding the nuclear threat Iran presents.
Worse, because of Iraq, the U.S. ability to use pre-emption in the future, when it might really be needed, is weakened. Most of the world sees the USA as a global bully and its intelligence as suspect. U.S. forces are overstretched. And getting backing for a new pre-emptive attack from a public made wary by the Iraq experience would be difficult.
Pre-emption in Iraq, learning the wrong lessons!
As the world now knows, the intelligence was wrong. Saddam had neither ties to bin Laden nor weapons of mass destruction. The cost of this misapplication of pre-emption — in U.S. lives, money and credibility — has been incalculable.
So what has Bush learned? Officially, at least, not much. On Thursday, the White House published its first National Security Strategy since the one that enshrined the Bush Doctrine.
Perhaps not surprisingly for an administration loath to admit error, the document casts Iraq as a pre-emption success. "With the elimination of Saddam's regime, this threat has been addressed once and for all," it declares. The pre-emption policy "remains the same." Talk about learning the wrong lessons.
So what has Bush learned? Officially, at least, not much. On Thursday, the White House published its first National Security Strategy since the one that enshrined the Bush Doctrine.
Perhaps not surprisingly for an administration loath to admit error, the document casts Iraq as a pre-emption success. "With the elimination of Saddam's regime, this threat has been addressed once and for all," it declares. The pre-emption policy "remains the same." Talk about learning the wrong lessons.
drug benefit plan designed by insurance companies
Many elderly and disabled Americans enrolled for the Medicare drug benefit will face new difficulties in obtaining their medicines on April 1, say advocacy groups familiar with the program.
On that date, insurers will have more latitude to tell pharmacists that they won't pay for a particular drug. Before that, insurers have been told, they should pay for a prescription even if it's not on the list of drugs they cover.
"I think that, after April 1, you're going to see huge problems with access. It's going to be January 1 all over again," said Tom Clark, policy director at the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists. The association represents pharmacists who serve nursing homes
On that date, insurers will have more latitude to tell pharmacists that they won't pay for a particular drug. Before that, insurers have been told, they should pay for a prescription even if it's not on the list of drugs they cover.
"I think that, after April 1, you're going to see huge problems with access. It's going to be January 1 all over again," said Tom Clark, policy director at the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists. The association represents pharmacists who serve nursing homes
16 March, 2006
Even prominent neo-conservatives are beginning to jump ship on the war and even neo-conservatism. Professor Francis Fukuyama has gone so far as to renounce his affiliations with Cheney, Rumsfeld and the pre-emption doctrine. Fukuyama was one of the 25 original founders of the Project for the New American Century—the intellectual founding document for neo-conservative foreign policy.
Writing in The New York Times last month, Fukuyama said: "As we approach the third anniversary of the onset of the Iraq war, it seems very unlikely that history will judge either the intervention itself or the ideas animating it kindly. By invading Iraq, the Bush administration created a self-fulfilling prophecy: Iraq has now replaced Afghanistan as a magnet, a training ground and an operational base for jihadist terrorists, with plenty of American targets to shoot at."
He added, "The so-called Bush Doctrine that set the framework for the administration's first term is now in shambles." And, "Neoconservatism, as both a political symbol and a body of thought, has evolved into something I can no longer support."
It is clear that the Bush pre-emption polices are a disaster—and now they're being rejected by people from Left to Right, while Bush continues to push the same spin believing that if you say the same thing enough times, people will believe it.
Writing in The New York Times last month, Fukuyama said: "As we approach the third anniversary of the onset of the Iraq war, it seems very unlikely that history will judge either the intervention itself or the ideas animating it kindly. By invading Iraq, the Bush administration created a self-fulfilling prophecy: Iraq has now replaced Afghanistan as a magnet, a training ground and an operational base for jihadist terrorists, with plenty of American targets to shoot at."
He added, "The so-called Bush Doctrine that set the framework for the administration's first term is now in shambles." And, "Neoconservatism, as both a political symbol and a body of thought, has evolved into something I can no longer support."
It is clear that the Bush pre-emption polices are a disaster—and now they're being rejected by people from Left to Right, while Bush continues to push the same spin believing that if you say the same thing enough times, people will believe it.
Iraq, first-strike policy, killing fields
Undaunted by the killing fields in Iraq, President Bush today reaffirmed his strike-first policy. . He is a "bring it on" fanatical crusader spreading fear as a way of controlling us and attempting to control the world, and he is using us to kill innocent people around the world. All the while by threatening people with our first- strike capability,they are causing us to be more at risk. We must vote these people out of offce.
Iraq update
Eleven people - most of them women and children - have been killed after US forces bombed a house during a raid north of Baghdad, police and relatives said. The killed family was not part of the resistance, they were women and children.
rule of law
Freedom requires respect for the rule of law. President Bush already had the authority to wiretap suspected terrorists—he could even wiretap first and get warrants 3 days later. But he chose to get no warrants at all, clearly violating the law set up to protect innocent Americans and then he mislead (lied to) Congress and the American people about his program. We are not free if a President doesn't follow the law and violates laws that are constitutional and have been passed by Congress representing we the people. If he can pick and choose those he will follow why can’t we?
14 March, 2006
Bush, big oil, profits, remember to vote
Oil giants ExxonMobil, Chevron, ConocoPhillips , the U.S. units of BP and Royal Dutch Shell and major oil refiner Valero are making record profits.
This dramatic consolidation of the oil and gas industry has gone largely unchecked by the federal government, the Bushes are heavily invested in Big Oil. Exxon alone earned more than $36 billion last year, the biggest profit ever for a U.S. company.
Oil and gas mergers in recent years have boosted energy prices. The national retail price for regular unleaded gasoline has jumped 11.2 cents over the past two weeks to $2.37 a gallon, the highest level since early November, the Energy Department reported Monday. Remembmer to vote.
This dramatic consolidation of the oil and gas industry has gone largely unchecked by the federal government, the Bushes are heavily invested in Big Oil. Exxon alone earned more than $36 billion last year, the biggest profit ever for a U.S. company.
Oil and gas mergers in recent years have boosted energy prices. The national retail price for regular unleaded gasoline has jumped 11.2 cents over the past two weeks to $2.37 a gallon, the highest level since early November, the Energy Department reported Monday. Remembmer to vote.
update Iraq
"At least" 2,308 members of the U.S. military have died, not counting (1)"contractors" (2) Iraqi civilians (3) the tens of thousands that have been wounded, and the one in five surviving soldiers that have lingering mental problems.
13 March, 2006
American people waking up to bush republicans.
President Bush's "approval rating" has sunk to a new low according to a USA TODAY/CNN/Gallup poll released Monday. The latest results show only 36% of those polled saying they "approve" of the way Bush is handling his job.
Asked two years ago if they were "certain that the U.S. will win" the war with Iraq, 79% of those polled said yes. The answer last weekend: 22%. Finally, the people are waking up. Hurrah for the intelligence of the American People.
Asked two years ago if they were "certain that the U.S. will win" the war with Iraq, 79% of those polled said yes. The answer last weekend: 22%. Finally, the people are waking up. Hurrah for the intelligence of the American People.
impeach or censure?
The resolution says the president "repeatedly misled the public" before the disclosure of the NSA program last December when he indicated the administration was relying on court orders to wiretap terror suspects inside the U.S.
"Congress has to reassert our system of government, and the cleanest and the most efficient way to do that is to censure the president," Feingold said. "And, hopefully, he will acknowledge that he did something wrong."
"Congress has to reassert our system of government, and the cleanest and the most efficient way to do that is to censure the president," Feingold said. "And, hopefully, he will acknowledge that he did something wrong."
12 March, 2006
Don't trust the military
Chief Warrant Officer Ronald Eagle, an expert on enemy targeting, served 20 years in the military -- 10 years of active duty in the Air Force, another 10 in the West Virginia National Guard. Then he decided enough was enough. He owned a promising new aircraft-maintenance business, and it needed his attention. His retirement date was set for last February.
Staff Sgt. Justin Fontaine, a generator mechanic, enrolled in the Massachusetts National Guard out of high school and served nearly nine years. In preparation for his exit date last March, he turned in his field gear -- his rucksack and web belt, his uniforms and canteen.
An interrogator in an intelligence unit, joined the Army Reserve in 1991, extended his enlistment in 1999 and then re-upped for three years in 2000. Costas, a U.S. Border Patrol officer in Texas, was due to retire from the reserves in last May
According to their contracts, expectations and desires, all three soldiers should have been civilians by now. But Fontaine and Costas are currently serving in Iraq, and Eagle has just been deployed. On their Army paychecks, the expiration date of their military service is now listed sometime after 2030 -- the payroll computer's way of saying, "Who knows?"
Through a series of stop-loss orders, the Army alone has blocked the possible retirements and departures of more than 40,000 soldiers, about 16,000 of them National Guard and reserve members who were eligible to leave the service this year. Hundreds more in the Air Force, Navy and Marines were briefly blocked from retiring or departing the military at some point this year.
"An enlistment contract has two parties, yet only the government is allowed to violate the contract; I am not," said Costas, 42, who signed an e-mail from Iraq this month "Chained in Iraq," an allusion to the fact that he and his fellow reservists remained in Baghdad after the active-duty unit into which they were transferred last spring went home.
He has now been told that he will be home late next June, more than a year after his contractual departure date. "Unfair. I would not say it's a draft per se, but it's clearly a breach of contract. I will not reenlist."
"We don't ever trust anything we're told," said Chris Walsh of Southington, Conn., whose wife, Jessica, an eighth-grade English teacher, is a military police officer in a National Guard unit in Baghdad. She may end up serving nearly two years beyond her original exit date of July 2002, Chris Walsh said. "We've been disappointed too many times."
Staff Sgt. Justin Fontaine, a generator mechanic, enrolled in the Massachusetts National Guard out of high school and served nearly nine years. In preparation for his exit date last March, he turned in his field gear -- his rucksack and web belt, his uniforms and canteen.
An interrogator in an intelligence unit, joined the Army Reserve in 1991, extended his enlistment in 1999 and then re-upped for three years in 2000. Costas, a U.S. Border Patrol officer in Texas, was due to retire from the reserves in last May
According to their contracts, expectations and desires, all three soldiers should have been civilians by now. But Fontaine and Costas are currently serving in Iraq, and Eagle has just been deployed. On their Army paychecks, the expiration date of their military service is now listed sometime after 2030 -- the payroll computer's way of saying, "Who knows?"
Through a series of stop-loss orders, the Army alone has blocked the possible retirements and departures of more than 40,000 soldiers, about 16,000 of them National Guard and reserve members who were eligible to leave the service this year. Hundreds more in the Air Force, Navy and Marines were briefly blocked from retiring or departing the military at some point this year.
"An enlistment contract has two parties, yet only the government is allowed to violate the contract; I am not," said Costas, 42, who signed an e-mail from Iraq this month "Chained in Iraq," an allusion to the fact that he and his fellow reservists remained in Baghdad after the active-duty unit into which they were transferred last spring went home.
He has now been told that he will be home late next June, more than a year after his contractual departure date. "Unfair. I would not say it's a draft per se, but it's clearly a breach of contract. I will not reenlist."
"We don't ever trust anything we're told," said Chris Walsh of Southington, Conn., whose wife, Jessica, an eighth-grade English teacher, is a military police officer in a National Guard unit in Baghdad. She may end up serving nearly two years beyond her original exit date of July 2002, Chris Walsh said. "We've been disappointed too many times."
Why Republicans outing of Plame is a big deal
NOCs (the word rhymes with "rocks") are the most covert CIA operatives. They typically work abroad without diplomatic protection (often they pretend to work for some commercial enterprise). If these spies are caught, there's no guarantee that the United States would admit their true identities. When using official cover could put a spy's life and work at risk, NOC is the only alternative.
Why is it such a big deal that someone outed Valerie Plame? For starters, it's a felony. And Plame was also reportedly a NOC with years of experience investigating weapons of mass destruction. If this is true, her discovery could compromise intelligence operations she was involved with around the world, which would explain why she maintained her nonofficial cover even when she was back in the United States.
"Hard target" countries like China and North Korea often keep records of every known meeting between Americans and their scientists and officials. Almost certainly, those lists would have been frantically reviewed when Plame's identity was revealed, and any sources she recruited could have been exposed.
Why is it such a big deal that someone outed Valerie Plame? For starters, it's a felony. And Plame was also reportedly a NOC with years of experience investigating weapons of mass destruction. If this is true, her discovery could compromise intelligence operations she was involved with around the world, which would explain why she maintained her nonofficial cover even when she was back in the United States.
"Hard target" countries like China and North Korea often keep records of every known meeting between Americans and their scientists and officials. Almost certainly, those lists would have been frantically reviewed when Plame's identity was revealed, and any sources she recruited could have been exposed.
Democrats finally standing up on ports and economy
"Republicans have shown a pre-9/11 mind-set when it comes to closing the gaps in our security at our ports," the Democratic chairman said. "Democrats will continue to fight to secure our ports."
On another issue, Dean assailed Bush for running up the U.S. debt by $3 trillion during his tenure, contending that amounts to another security crisis.
"One of the implications of this increased debt is that increasingly, foreigners are financing this debt, putting the American economy in the hands of foreign debt holders, just like the ports deal would have put port security in the hands of a foreign-owned government," Dean said.
Dean said the Democrats will oppose budgets that deepen the deficit. Finally, Democrats are standing up to this republican idiocy.
On another issue, Dean assailed Bush for running up the U.S. debt by $3 trillion during his tenure, contending that amounts to another security crisis.
"One of the implications of this increased debt is that increasingly, foreigners are financing this debt, putting the American economy in the hands of foreign debt holders, just like the ports deal would have put port security in the hands of a foreign-owned government," Dean said.
Dean said the Democrats will oppose budgets that deepen the deficit. Finally, Democrats are standing up to this republican idiocy.
11 March, 2006
Republican shell game
Critics also say that by highlighting the grants to faith-based groups, the administration is distorting the overall funding picture. Bush is "cooking the numbers" and that while more money is going to faith-based groups, less is going to secular groups. "There is no new money for the poor," he says. "People are told about increases in spending for faith-based groups, but not told about cuts in other programs."
Now instead of money they have raised, "faith based" groups are spending your tax dollars in their charity programs and using their fund raising for parties and other in-house activities,coupled with cuts in federal spending,it is a net dencrease to the poor.
Now instead of money they have raised, "faith based" groups are spending your tax dollars in their charity programs and using their fund raising for parties and other in-house activities,coupled with cuts in federal spending,it is a net dencrease to the poor.
A tip of the iceberg?
Allen, Delay, Abramoff,Burton,Livingstone,Cunningham, Lay, Skilling, Gingerich and a host over other senior corporate executives (all alledged, indicted or convicted evildoers) are Republicans, Surprise! surprise!
Now, grants(your money) are routine and have quietly increased to the point where groups affiliated with churches, synagogues, or other "faith communities" now receive more than $2.1 billion a year from the federal government, They return the favor in votes. Neat isn't it.
Now, grants(your money) are routine and have quietly increased to the point where groups affiliated with churches, synagogues, or other "faith communities" now receive more than $2.1 billion a year from the federal government, They return the favor in votes. Neat isn't it.
Republican sympathy for an alleged thief
Claude Alexander Allen, 45, Bush's domestic policy advisor until he abuptly resigned in February, was arrested Thursday by police in Montgomery County, Md., for allegedly claiming refunds for more than $5,000 worth of merchandise he did not buy, according to county and federal authorities.
Bush said, "If the allegations are true, something went wrong in Claude Allen's life, and that is really sad." When was the last time you heard republicans say about a thief, "something went wrong in his life and that is really sad?
Bush said, "If the allegations are true, something went wrong in Claude Allen's life, and that is really sad." When was the last time you heard republicans say about a thief, "something went wrong in his life and that is really sad?
good advice
The 38-year-old country singer also criticized President Bush, who visited the devastated Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans on Wednesday.
"There's no reason why someone can't go down there — who's supposed to be the leader of the free world — and say, 'I'm giving you a job to do and I'm not leaving here until it's done. And you're held accountable,'" he said.
Later in the news conference, McGraw let out a stream of frustration, growling, "I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take it anymore." The couple were married in 1996.
When asked what their fans could do to help, McGraw said: "Vote."
"There's no reason why someone can't go down there — who's supposed to be the leader of the free world — and say, 'I'm giving you a job to do and I'm not leaving here until it's done. And you're held accountable,'" he said.
Later in the news conference, McGraw let out a stream of frustration, growling, "I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take it anymore." The couple were married in 1996.
When asked what their fans could do to help, McGraw said: "Vote."
These republicans never quit.
Republicans are now trying to say that cancelling the port takeover is a bad thing.
They now are saying that the developments could make cash-rich investors in the Persian Gulf, where there is the widespread belief that the furor was rooted in anti-Arab bias, wary of high-profile investments in the United States.
Hey, it's a good thing to dis-motivate the foreign rich from buying up all of our assets, especially those with security issues.
They now are saying that the developments could make cash-rich investors in the Persian Gulf, where there is the widespread belief that the furor was rooted in anti-Arab bias, wary of high-profile investments in the United States.
Hey, it's a good thing to dis-motivate the foreign rich from buying up all of our assets, especially those with security issues.
10 March, 2006
what the people think of Republicans
read today:
More and more people disapprove of Republican's performance, question their character and no longer consider them strong leaders against terrorism according to an AP-Ipsos poll. Well, it's about time.
More and more people disapprove of Republican's performance, question their character and no longer consider them strong leaders against terrorism according to an AP-Ipsos poll. Well, it's about time.
Republican economics
One America that does the work, another America that reaps the reward. One America that pays the taxes, another America that gets the tax breaks. One America that will do anything to leave its children a better life, another America that never has to do a thing because its children are already set for life.
The minimum wage has been stuck at $5.15 per hour for ten years--while costs for health care, housing, child care, transportation and everything else have skyrocketed and executive pay has steadily increased. Executives have figured out how to pay themselves more, while paying their workers less. It's a disgrace--but not a surprise--that poverty is up for the fourth year in a row.
The minimum wage has been stuck at $5.15 per hour for ten years--while costs for health care, housing, child care, transportation and everything else have skyrocketed and executive pay has steadily increased. Executives have figured out how to pay themselves more, while paying their workers less. It's a disgrace--but not a surprise--that poverty is up for the fourth year in a row.
09 March, 2006
enjoy your Republican economy
The biggest ever monthly deficit follows a record annual trade deficit of $723.6 billion in 2005. The trade gap would exceed $800 billion in 2006 if it continued to run at the pace set in the first month of the year.
Another report said the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly rose last week to 303,000, the highest level since the start of the year.
Another report said the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly rose last week to 303,000, the highest level since the start of the year.
06 March, 2006
Iraq, dead, wounded, mental problems
"At least" 2,300 members of the U.S. military have died, not counting (1)"contractors" (2) Iraqi civilians (3) the tens of thousands that have been wounded, and the one in five surviving soldiers that have lingering mental problems.
05 March, 2006
Delta funnels money to Republicans but can't pay employees
Delta Air Lines, the nation's third-largest carrier, asked a bankruptcy court judge Friday to approve $3.9 million in payments to some of the airline's advisers.
The professional fees to Delta's auditors and advisers include a request to pay more than $1.8 million to the consulting firm of former New York City and possible Republican candidate for President in 2008, Mayor Rudy Giuliani.
The pilots union says it will strike if its contract is thrown out by a panel of arbitrators that will hold hearings starting March 13. Chief Executive Officer Gerald Grinstein, at a public event Friday, told reporters "Delta is cooked" and will not survive if the pilots strike.
The professional fees to Delta's auditors and advisers include a request to pay more than $1.8 million to the consulting firm of former New York City and possible Republican candidate for President in 2008, Mayor Rudy Giuliani.
The pilots union says it will strike if its contract is thrown out by a panel of arbitrators that will hold hearings starting March 13. Chief Executive Officer Gerald Grinstein, at a public event Friday, told reporters "Delta is cooked" and will not survive if the pilots strike.
Republican India policy will lead to expanded nukes
Mr. Bush's team says it designed the India deal as a way to build a "strategic partnership" with the world's largest democracy, after decades of estrangement. India has proved itself a responsible power, Mr. Bush said. That the country is one of the fastest-growing emerging markets, a favorite destination for technology companies, a market for his rich friends.
The part of the deal the administration likes to talk about allows India to buy American fuel for its civilian reactors for the first time, in exchange for opening them to international inspection.
But India only designated 14 of its sites as "civilian" plants that it permanently guarantees can be inspected (up from four a few months ago), meaning that the additional eight can be used to make bomb fuel.
The administration's negotiator "caved on that one early on," in the words of Robert J. Einhorn, a nonproliferation expert who served under President Clinton and in the early days of Mr. Bush's tenure.
Since the United States would now sell India fuel for its newly declared civilian reactors — assuming Congress goes along — the Indians can devote their domestic uranium supply to weapons. It substantially expands the supply of uranium the Indians have for military purposes.
The part of the deal the administration likes to talk about allows India to buy American fuel for its civilian reactors for the first time, in exchange for opening them to international inspection.
But India only designated 14 of its sites as "civilian" plants that it permanently guarantees can be inspected (up from four a few months ago), meaning that the additional eight can be used to make bomb fuel.
The administration's negotiator "caved on that one early on," in the words of Robert J. Einhorn, a nonproliferation expert who served under President Clinton and in the early days of Mr. Bush's tenure.
Since the United States would now sell India fuel for its newly declared civilian reactors — assuming Congress goes along — the Indians can devote their domestic uranium supply to weapons. It substantially expands the supply of uranium the Indians have for military purposes.
Republican secrecy violates Constitution
Despite the Sixth Amendment's guarantee of public trials, nearly all records are being kept secret for more than 5,000 defendants who completed their journey through the federal courts over the last three years. Instances of such secrecy more than doubled from 2003 to 2005.
What makes the American criminal justice system different from so many others in the world is our willingness to cast some sunshine on the process, but if you can't see it, you can't really criticize it.
The data show a sharp increase in secret case files over time as the Bush administration's well-documented reliance on secrecy in the executive branch has crept into the federal courts through the war on drugs, anti-terrorism efforts and other criminal matters.
"This follows the pattern of this administration," said John Wesley Hall, an Arkansas defense attorney and second vice president of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.
What makes the American criminal justice system different from so many others in the world is our willingness to cast some sunshine on the process, but if you can't see it, you can't really criticize it.
The data show a sharp increase in secret case files over time as the Bush administration's well-documented reliance on secrecy in the executive branch has crept into the federal courts through the war on drugs, anti-terrorism efforts and other criminal matters.
"This follows the pattern of this administration," said John Wesley Hall, an Arkansas defense attorney and second vice president of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.
Support our troops,Oppose the war
Tillman joined the Army after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks even though he had a multimillion-dollar contract to play football for the Arizona Cardinals. He and his brother completed a tour in Iraq before going to Afghanistan
Tillman, 27, died on April 22, 2004, when he was struck by gunfire during a firefight along a canyon road near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. The Army said at the time that the barrage of bullets came from enemy fire.
Tillman's mother, Mary, told the Washington Post Saturday that the criminal investigation should have been launched at the onset. "The military has had every opportunity to do the right thing and they haven't," she said. "They knew all along that something was seriously wrong and they just wanted to cover it up."
A report by the Army later found that troops with Tillman knew at the time that friendly fire had killed the football star. Officers destroyed critical evidence and concealed the truth from Tillman's brother, also an Army Ranger, who was nearby, the report found.
Tillman, 27, died on April 22, 2004, when he was struck by gunfire during a firefight along a canyon road near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. The Army said at the time that the barrage of bullets came from enemy fire.
Tillman's mother, Mary, told the Washington Post Saturday that the criminal investigation should have been launched at the onset. "The military has had every opportunity to do the right thing and they haven't," she said. "They knew all along that something was seriously wrong and they just wanted to cover it up."
A report by the Army later found that troops with Tillman knew at the time that friendly fire had killed the football star. Officers destroyed critical evidence and concealed the truth from Tillman's brother, also an Army Ranger, who was nearby, the report found.
04 March, 2006
Republican economy
Now that America's savings rate has been negative for an entire year, a first since the Great Depression, there is more evidence that, under Republican control, we are a nation on its way to the poor house.
Iraq, republicans, both sides hate us
Anger at the Americans and the Iraqi government found its way to pulpits on both sides of the Shiite-Sunni divide.
In Samarra, 60 miles north of Baghdad, Cleric Ahmed Hassan al-Taha accused U.S. forces and their allies of stoking the tension between majority Shiites and minority Sunnis. "Iraqis were living in harmony until the occupiers and those who came with them arrived in this country. They are responsible for igniting sectarianism," al-Taha said.
We have been saying all along, after throwing away $320 billion (this much admitted to), we will still be the enemy of both sides and the Iraqi government will be dominated by the Shiite majority aligned with Iran, thanks to our republicans.
In Samarra, 60 miles north of Baghdad, Cleric Ahmed Hassan al-Taha accused U.S. forces and their allies of stoking the tension between majority Shiites and minority Sunnis. "Iraqis were living in harmony until the occupiers and those who came with them arrived in this country. They are responsible for igniting sectarianism," al-Taha said.
We have been saying all along, after throwing away $320 billion (this much admitted to), we will still be the enemy of both sides and the Iraqi government will be dominated by the Shiite majority aligned with Iran, thanks to our republicans.
republicans and trade deficits
Warren Buffett says he remains bothered by the U.S. trade deficit, which rose 17.5% last year to a record $725.8 billion. These Republicans just don't get it
03 March, 2006
Republicans outsourcing jobs for cheap labor
The outsourcing industry — in which Indian firms handle everything from software engineering to customer service call centers for U.S. and other foreign companies — is expected to bring in $22 billion in revenue alone this fiscal year. Much of that outsourcing business is generated by U.S. companies. Many have eliminated domestic jobs for cheaper Indian labor.
Bush can't even get that right
"I believe that a prosperous, democratic Pakistan will be a steadfast partner for America, a peaceful neighbor for India and a force for freedom and moderation in the Arab world."
Later, White House press secretary Scott McClellan told reporters that Bush meant to say Pakistan would be a force in the Muslim world. Pakistan is not an Arab country.
Later, White House press secretary Scott McClellan told reporters that Bush meant to say Pakistan would be a force in the Muslim world. Pakistan is not an Arab country.
02 March, 2006
Republican cronies make money on Katrina
It is at least possible that the delay in responding to Katrina was so they could have the time to arrange for their rich Republican friends to profit from the money that would flow. The Carnival Cruise line deal may only be the tip of the iceberg. That should be investigated.
Republican payback
Did Florida Governor Jeb Bush improperly line up a $236 million government contract for Carnival Cruise Lines after Hurricane Katrina? That's what Congressman Henry Waxman (D-Ca.) is accusing.
Waxman released a series of e-mails today that were among many provided to Congress from former FEMA director Michael Brown. Along with correspondence from Brown, those e-mails include Bush's communications with Carnival advertising executive Ric Davis, who also happens to be a major political donor to the Republican party.
Waxman released a series of e-mails today that were among many provided to Congress from former FEMA director Michael Brown. Along with correspondence from Brown, those e-mails include Bush's communications with Carnival advertising executive Ric Davis, who also happens to be a major political donor to the Republican party.
Republicans and lies
These Republicans said
1. There were WMD's in Iraq and they knew where they were-not true
2. Iraq was acquiring WMD materials from Africa--not true (we went to war on those) and
3.Bush said 5 days later that he didn't know how bad Katrina was going to be--watch the just released tape and you will see that he was told what to expect the day before Katrina hit landfall AND in the next two days he campaigned, attended birthday parties and played the guitar while the worst natural disaster in American history killed over 1,300 people and displaced hundreds of thousands.
Either he is the most incompetent in history or the worst liar. We report, you decide.
1. There were WMD's in Iraq and they knew where they were-not true
2. Iraq was acquiring WMD materials from Africa--not true (we went to war on those) and
3.Bush said 5 days later that he didn't know how bad Katrina was going to be--watch the just released tape and you will see that he was told what to expect the day before Katrina hit landfall AND in the next two days he campaigned, attended birthday parties and played the guitar while the worst natural disaster in American history killed over 1,300 people and displaced hundreds of thousands.
Either he is the most incompetent in history or the worst liar. We report, you decide.
Bush lied, AGAIN
At the August 28th briefing, the president was told exactly what to expect:
• The chief scientist of the National Hurricane Center warned that a major levee breach was "obviously a very, very grave concern." Bush lied to the entire nation about this point just 5 days later.
• Michael Brown told the president that if New Orleans flooded the Superdome emergency shelter would likely be under water and short on supplies, creating a "catastrophe within a catastrophe."
• Experts and officials implored the President to prepare for, as the AP described it, "devastation of historic proportions."
President Bush didn't ask a single question during the briefing. In the next two days he campaigned, attended birthday parties and played guitar while the worst natural disaster in American history killed over 1,300 people and displaced hundreds of thousands. If you listen to the video just released, you will see that he did know.
• The chief scientist of the National Hurricane Center warned that a major levee breach was "obviously a very, very grave concern." Bush lied to the entire nation about this point just 5 days later.
• Michael Brown told the president that if New Orleans flooded the Superdome emergency shelter would likely be under water and short on supplies, creating a "catastrophe within a catastrophe."
• Experts and officials implored the President to prepare for, as the AP described it, "devastation of historic proportions."
President Bush didn't ask a single question during the briefing. In the next two days he campaigned, attended birthday parties and played guitar while the worst natural disaster in American history killed over 1,300 people and displaced hundreds of thousands. If you listen to the video just released, you will see that he did know.
01 March, 2006
Republicans on the environment
The Endangered Species Act has been "remarkably successful" in the Northeast, a New England Wild Flower Society report said Tuesday
The report comes amid proposals to alter the act in Congress, where Republicans claim that too few of the listed species have recovered under the act
The report comes amid proposals to alter the act in Congress, where Republicans claim that too few of the listed species have recovered under the act
Republicans block civil liberties safeguards
Senate Republicans moved Wednesday to prevent Democrats from trying to add more civil liberties safeguards to a renewal of the 2001 Patriot Act due to expire next week. Who said, "If you are willing to give up liberties in the name of security, you deserve neither?"
Iraq, troops, mental health
Besides the dead and wounded, what are Republicans doing to our troops? Well, more than a third of U.S. soldiers and Marines fighting in Iraq visited a mental health specialist at least once after their combat tour, evidence of the emotional trauma of the war. The study found about 1 in 5 veterans of Iraq show evidence of mental health problems.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)